OF 

POWER 


CHARLES 
OBERT 


BOOKS   BY 

^ffbert  Crattiociu" 

(MARY  N.  MURFREE.) 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER.     Crown  8vo,  $1.50. 
THE    CHAMPION.      With  a  Frontispiece.      i2mc, 

$1.20,  net.     Postpaid,  $1.31. 
IN    THE    TENNESSEE     MOUNTAINS.       Short 

Stories.     i6mo,  $1.25. 

DOWN    THE   RAVINE.     For  Young  People.     Illus 
trated.     i6mo,  $1.00. 
THE      PROPHET     OF     THE     GREAT     SMOKY 

MOUNTAINS.     A  Novel.     i6mo,  $1.25. 
IN   THE   CLOUDS.     A  Novel.     i6mo,  $1.25. 
THE     STORY     OF     KEEDON     BLUFFS.      For 

Young  People.     i6mo,  $1.00. 
THE    DESPOT    OF    BROOMSEDGE    COVE.     A 

Novel.     i6mo,  11.25. 
WHERE     THE     BATTLE    WAS     FOUGHT.      A 

Novel.     i6mo,  $1.25. 

HIS   VANISHED   STAR.     A  Novel.     i6mo,  $1.25. 
THE    MYSTERY  OF   WITCH-FACE    MOUNTAIN. 

i6mo,  $1.25. 
THE     YOUNG     MOUNTAINEERS.      Illustrated. 

I2H10,  Jl.SO. 

THE  JUGGLER.    A  Novel.     i6mo,$i.25. 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY, 
BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK. 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 


A  SPECTRE 
OF  POWER 


CHARLES  EGBERT  CRADDOCK 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 
Etbotftte  $m#,  Cambridge 
1903 


DIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


COPYRIGHT,   1903,   BY  MARY  N.  MURFREB 
ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 

Published  May,  rgoj 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 


IT  so  chanced  that  Eve,  with  all  her  primeval  curiosity, 
dwelt  in  the  Cherokee  town  of  Great  Tellico.  Hence  came 
disaster.  To  the  inquisitiveness  of  the  woman  it  was 
always  imputed,  although  the  undisciplined  heart  of  man, 
the  turbulent  impulses  of  ambition,  and  the  serpentine 
supersubtlety  of  a  covetous  political  scheme  were  potent 
elements.  Little,  indeed,  such  as  she  might  seem  concerned 
with  matters  of  high  import.  From  afar,  unindividualized 
among  scores  of  the  other  subservient  Cherokee  women 
standing  on  the  banks  of  the  glittering  Tennessee  River, 
she  had  watched  the  approach  of  the  herald  of  the  embassy. 
A  Choctaw  Indian  he  was  revealed  as  he  ran  holding  broadly 
outstretched  in  each  hand  the  great  white  wing  of  a  swan, 
streaked  with  symbolic  lines  of  white  clay.  The  headmen 
of  Tellico,  the  warriors  of  note,  and  the  "  beloved  men " 
swiftly  assembled  in  the  "  beloved  square "  to  greet  the 
arrival  of  the  ambassador  himself,  and  with  no  presenti 
ment  of  personal  significance  in  the  event,  she  beheld  the 
entry  of  the  splendidly  bedight  Choctaw  chief,  Mingo  Push- 
koosh. 

Through  the  forests  he  had  elected  to  come,  and  as  he 
advanced  with  that  wonderful,  running  gait  of  the  Choctaw 
Indian,  who  could  outwind,  it  was  said  in  that  day,  a  swift 
horse,  he  sustained  impassively  the  eager,  fixed  gaze  of  the 
hundreds  of  Cherokees  assembled  in  his  honor. 


2  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

The  iconoclast,  who  was  not  born  yesterday,  was  here 
and  there  in  the  crowd,  and  had  a  word  of  covert  scoffing  at 
his*neglectof  the  great  advantages  of  water  carriage  afforded 
by  the  numerous  fine  rivers  of  the  Cherokee  country ;  for 
the  Choctaws  had  but  little  familiarity  with  navigation,  ow 
ing  to  the  few  and  very  limited  streams  of  their  own  region, 
and  notoriously,  of  all  nations  of  Indians,  they  could  not 
swim. 

Envy,  however,  could  hardly  spare  a  fling  at  so  imperi 
ous  a  figure  as  the  Mingo  presented  as  he  stood  in  the  "  be 
loved  square  "  and  delivered  in  rapid,  fervid,  poetic  diction 
his  oration  of  greeting  to  the  headmen  of  Tcllico.  The 
afternoon  sunlight  glittered  on  the  silver  wrist-plates  on  his 
muscular,  bare  arms,  his  gorget  and  "  earbobs  "  of  the  same 
metal,  and  a  half  dozen  strands  of  the  glossily  white,  fresh 
water  pearls  of  the  region,  exceedingly  large  and  regularly 
shaped,  which  hung  about  the  neck  of  his  white,  dressed 
doeskin  hunting-shirt.  His  head  was  not  polled  after  the 
fashion  of  the  Cherokees,  and  his  hair  grew  thick  and  long. 
A  great  cluster  of  scarlet  flamingo  feathers  stood  high  in 
the  midst  of  the  straight,  black  locks,  and  he  wore  a  broad, 
silver  band  on  the  backward  slant  of  his  forehead,  artificially 
flattened  thus  in  infancy,  according  to  the  tribal  custom. 
His  leggings  and  moccasins  were  also  scarlet.  He  bore  no 
arms  except  a  pair  of  handsome,  silver-mounted  pistols  in  his 
embroidered  belt. 

The  gentle  breeze  carried  his  full,  rich,  guttural  tones  to 
the  uttermost  outskirts  of  the  crowd,  and  suddenly  it  was 
swayed  by  a  new  sensation  and  a  straining  of  necks  to  see. 
For  although  the  Choctaws  beyond  all  tribes  were  most  ad 
dicted  to  the  punctilio  of  ceremonial  observances,  and  scorned 
and  resisted  innovation,  the  voice  which  followed  his  words, 
substituting  the  familiar  Cherokee  equivalents,  was  the  voice 
of  no  Indian  interpreter.  It  was  suave  and  fluent  and  easy 
of  comprehension,  but  now  and  again  an  idiom  occurred,  a 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  3 

method  of  construction  essentially  French.  For  beside  the 
Mingo,  and  in  front  of  his  escort  of  a  dozen  Choctaw  braves, 
stood  a  glittering  object,  a  white  man,  a  French  officer 
in  full  uniform,  and  with  his  hair  curled  and  plaited  and 
powdered. 

The  headmen  of  Tellico,  all  decorously  listening  to  the 
ambassador,  all  respectfully  gazing  upon  his  bright  ani 
mated  face,  as  he  declaimed  his  plea  for  welcome  and  his 
pleasure  in  beholding  them,  could  not  altogether  cloak  their 
surprised  interest  and  covert  glances  at  this  resplendent 
apparition  in  the  lowly  functions  of  an  interpreter.  It  was 
a  relief  when  Push-koosh  openly  alluded  to  his  companion, 
and  he  himself  repeated  in  Cherokee  the  explanation  of  his 
appearance  in  this  capacity,  and  they  were  free  to  let  their 
eyes  rest  unrestrainedly  upon  him. 

In  his  clear,  ringing,  military  enunciation,  he  stated  that 
the  official  Choctaw  interpreter  with  whom  they  had  set 
forth  on  the  long  journey  from  Fort  Condd  de  la  Mobile 
had  sickened  by  the  way,  and  sinking  very  low  they  had 
been  obliged  to  strangle  him,  death  being  inevitable.  But 
they  had  left  his  body  on  a  scaffold  out  of  reach  of  wild 
animals,  whither  the  official  "  bone-picker "  should  be  sent 
on  their  return  to  the  southern  country  to  perform  the  last 
sad  rites  of  the  Choctaw  religion  (which  seems  to  have  had 
few  rites  other  than  these  frightful  funeral  observances). 
For  these  reasons  they  were  fain  to  crave  the  indulgence  of 
the  great  Cherokee  chiefs  for  appearing  without  that  essen 
tial  functionary,  an  interpreter,  since  the  lieutenant,  Jean 
Marie  Edouard  Bodin  de  Laroche,  was  but  scantily  acquainted 
with  the  charming  Cherokee  language,  so  musical  and  of  so 
elegant  a  construction,  and  Mingo  Push-koosh,  to  his  infi 
nite  regret,  had  of  it  no  knowledge  save  a  few  scattered 
phrases. 

The  discerning  and  thoughtful  Tanaesto,  standing  in  the 
group  of  brilliantly  arrayed  Cherokee  headmen,  silently 


4  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

eyeing  them  both,  noted  naught  significant  in  the  face  of 
the  Mingo  as  the  untoward  fate  of  the  strangled  interpreter 
was  recounted.  This  assistance  in  shuffling  off  the  mortal 
coil  would  have  been  to  the  Choctaw  a  matter  of  course  and 
a  national  custom.  But  Tanaesto  knew  that  the  white  man 
was  not  used  to  so  summary  a  disposition  of  the  inconven 
ient  dying.  He  was  subject,  like  all  the  Catholic  French, 
to  many  stringent  religious  restrictions,  chiefly  pertaining 
to  the  precise  method  in  which  he  might  take  life,  and 
although  he  looked  as  stanch  as  steel,  and  as  glittering,  his 
face  was  young  and  bland  and  as  unmoved  as  if  he  were 
reciting  a  fiction,  —  which  indeed  he  was  !  The  heart  of 
Tanaesto  weighed  very  light  with  the  thought,  —  there  had 
been  no  interpreter  to  die. 

"  My  brother/'  he  said  in  a  low  voice  to  Colonnah,  to  test 
his  joyful  suspicion,  "  why  does  a  French  officer  speaking 
but  indifferent  Cherokee  come  to  us  with  a  Choctaw  embassy 
without  an  interpreter  from  the  governor  of  Louisiana  ?  " 

The  wary  Colonnah  replied  instantly.  "  That  the  Choc 
taw  embassy  may  go  back  no  wiser  in  certain  things  than  the 
French  officer  may  desire." 

The  disclosure  of  a  scheme  within  a  scheme  was  thus 
promised.  The  series  of  notable  successes  which  the  Chero- 
kees  had  achieved  in  1760,  in  their  war  against  the  British, 
had  been  nullified  in  the  campaign  of  the  succeeding  year 
by  the  inability  of  the  French  to  convey  to  them  adequate 
ammunition  at  the  crisis  of  their  final  defeat.  Doubtless 
some  new  plan  was  now  imminent,  some  fresh  attempt  in 
contemplation  to  aid  them  to  throw  off  the  British  yoke. 
Tanaesto's  heart  leaped  at  the  thought,  although  a  solemn 
treaty  of  peace  had  just  been  signed  at  Charlestown  with 
the  Royal  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  and  a  deputation  of 
Cherokee  chiefs  now,  in  the  early  spring  of  1762,  were 
on  the  way  to  England  as  guests  invited  to  visit  his  majesty 
King  George  in  London.1 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  5 

The  craft  of  the  Indians  rendered  craft  difficult  to  dis 
guise,  and  Tanaesto  could  but  wonder  if  Mingo  Push-koosh 
knew  or  suspected  aught  of  the  limitations  of  his  powers  or 
the  secrets  of  his  mission  thus  withheld  from  him. 

His  fine  voice  died  away  at  last  on  the  bland  air ;  the 
oratorical  display  in  which  the  Indians  all  delighted  and 
the  Choctaws  so  much  excelled  had  been  elaborately  ex 
ploited  ;  the  stir  of  the  wind,  the  lapsing  currents  of  the 
river,  were  barely  audible  in  the  silence  that  seemed  still  to 
vibrate  with  the  pulsings  of  his  eloquent  periods. 

Then  another  voice  arose,  deep,  full,  impressive,  as  Moy 
Toy,  the  great  chief  of  Tellico,  pronounced  the  stereotyped 
sentences  of  welcome  and  protestations  of  a  desire  of  friend 
ship. 

The  Choctaw  responded  sonorously,  " Aharattle-la  phena 
chemanumbole  !  "  2  (I  shall  firmly  shake  hands  with  your 
discourse.)  Whereupon  Moy  Toy,  with  eagle  feathers  upon 
his  head  and  a  splendid  garb  of  feather-woven  fabrics,  ad 
vanced  and  grasped  with  both  hands  the  Choctaw's  arm 
around  the  wrist ;  then  seized  him  anew  about  the  elbow ; 
and  again  with  the  like  fervent  pressure  around  the  arm 
close  to  the  shoulder,  as  being  near  the  heart.  He  drew 
back  from  the  visitor  for  one  silent  moment.  Then  he 
waved  a  great  fan  of  eagle  feathers  above  the  head  of  the 
ambassador,  the  plumes  stroking  him  gently,  and  his  formal 
reception  was  complete. 

The  Choctaw  turned  smilingly  to  the  crowd,  which  was 
presently  in  motion  dispersing  along  the  river  bank  and 
among  the  scattered  dwellings  of  the  town.  The  official 
group  of  headmen  had  broken  up  into  informal  knots,  and 
among  them  Push-koosh  moved  with  a  suave  but  princely 
arrogation,  as  tolerating  the  adulation  which  was  equally  his 
custom  and  his  expectation.  He  had  several  claims  to  spe 
cial  consideration,  of  none  of  which  was  he  oblivious,  and 


6  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

all  of  which  exerted  a  marked  influence  upon  his  personal 
ity.  He  enjoyed  a  certain  distinction  because  of  his  well- 
known  acuteness,  his  employment  in  the  French  interest, 
his  war  record,  and  his  undoubted  courage,  which  was  the 
more  noted  because  the  Choctaws  were  not  always  consid 
ered  brave  ;  for  although  fighting  furiously  in  defense  of 
their  own  territory,  they  were  accounted  half-hearted  and 
even  timorous  in  invasion  and  aggression.  Moreover,  he 
had  much  family  influence,  having  four  elder  brothers,  all 
noted  warriors,  who  championed  his  every  plan  and  took 
that  prideful,  solicitous,  censorious,  half-paternal  account  of 
him  characteristic  of  the  fraternal  senior,  and  often  resented 
and  ill-requited  by  the  sophisticated  Benjamins  even  of  civil 
ized  tribes.  To  this  simple  trait  of  family  affection  is  doubt 
less  due  the  name  by  which  he  was  known ;  for  throughout 
his  life  and  to  the  day  of  his  death  he  was  called  Push- 
koosh,  "Baby."  If  he  had  any  other  name,  it  is  not  of 
record  in  the  history  of  his  times,  in  which,  although  cruel 
as  death,  hard  as  steel,  and  cunning  as  craft  itself,  this 
Choctaw  warrior  always  incongruously  appears  as  "  Prince 
Baby,"  Mingo  Push-koosh. 

The  suavity  and  politic  amiability  of  the  carriage  of  the 
French  toward  the  savage,  which  had  so  marked  an  influ 
ence  on  the  earlier  stages  of  the  development  of  this  coun 
try,  were  never  more  definitely  illustrated  than  in  the  face 
of  the  young  officer,  Laroche.  Its  intelligence,  its  alertness, 
the  military  arrogance  in  the  pose  of  the  head,  rendered  the 
sudden,  bright  softness  of  his  smile  as  flattering  as  a  personal 
tribute..  From  an  athletic  point  of  view,  his  slender,  erect, 
sinewy  figure  coerced  the  respect  of  his  hosts,  and  in  secur 
ing  their  friendship  and  confidence,  he  had  a  great  advantage 
in  his  very  tolerable  command  of  the  Cherokee  language. 
His  linguistic  accomplishments  were  already  considerable, 
but  before  he  left  Fort  Conde  de  la  Mobile,  he  was  set  to 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  7 

work  under  the  instruction  of  the  official  interpreter,  by  the 
order  of  his  superior  officer,  and  he  had  acquired  a  collo 
quial  facility  as  a  military  duty  with  the  diligence  which 
he  would  have  manifested  in  mastering  military  theories 
and  tactical  problems.  He  talked  continually,  with  much 
ease  and  good-fellowship,  and  a  sort  of  elastic,  volatile  gay- 
ety.  But  he  showed  a  deeply  emotional  impressionability. 
He  manifested  great  and  genuine  pleasure  in  the  aspect  of 
the  country.  He  gazed  long  and  silently  upon  the  azure 
summits  and  infinite  lengths  of  the  Great  Smoky  Mountains, 
as  they  received  the  last  suffusion  of  the  red,  western  SUH- 
light  like  a  benediction,  and  glowed  to  purer,  higher,  finer 
phases  of  color,  becoming  densely  purple,  then  delicately 
amethystine,  then  all  transparent  and  roseate.  As  they 
grew  so  crystalline  of  effect  as  to  realize  to  the  imagination 
the  splendid  jeweled  luminosities  of  the  Apocalyptic  jasper, 
he  caught  his  breath,  exclaiming,  "  Nanne-  Yah  !  Nanne- 
Yah  !  "  (The  mountains  of  God  !)  He  declared  to  his  en 
tertainers  that  in  Old  France  he  was  born  near  mountains 
such  as  these  (for  he  was  not  of  the  Canadian  French,  who 
since  the  days  of  Iberville  had  so  heavily  recruited  the 
ranks  of  the  soldiery  in  Louisiana),  and  that  he  had  no 
doubt  that  this  mutual  nativity  to  the  heights  was  the 
reason  why  he  already  felt  toward  them  as  to  brothers. 
Yet  he  was  not  bent  upon  flattery ;  for  he  was  alone  with 
Push-koosh  when  he  said  again  and  again,  as  they  walked 
beside  the  Tennessee  Biver,  and  he  noted  the  swift  flow  of 
its  currents  all  bedight  in  red  and  gold  under  the  sunset 
sky,  "  Ookka  chookoma  intaa  f  "  (How  the  beautiful  water 
glides  along !) 

He  broke  presently  from  the  pensive  contemplation  of 
its  charms  and  stopped  short  with  a  crisp  ringing  cry, 
"Hola  !  la!  la!  "  Push-koosh,  glancing  about  for  the  cause 
of  this  excitement,  perceived  at  a  little  distance  some  Cher 
okee  youths,  who  were  leaping  from  the  heights  of  a  craggy 
eminence  and  diving  into  the  rippling  depths  with  a  temer- 


8  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

ity  and  facility  alike  admirable.  But  Push-koosh  had  no 
affinity  with  amphibian  traits,  being  himself,  in  common 
with  the  rest  of  his  tribe,  unable  to  swim.  He  resented 
the  interest  and  approval  which  the  Frenchman  accorded 
the  divers,  sundry  of  whom  were  now  breasting  the  cur 
rent  with  great  speed,  strength,  and  skill,  and  declared  that 
it  was  beneath  his  ambassadorial  dignity  to  waste  the  time 
in  watching  a  half  score  specimens  of  the  Cherokee  Ka- 
noona  (bullfrog),  as  they  called  the  creature  in  their  jar 
gon,  swim  a  race.  He  could  not  wait  for  this  !  Did  the 
officer  not  see  that  the  fires  of  split  cane  were  already 
alight  in  the  great  state-house,  whither  they  must  at  once 
repair  to  drink  of  the  cacina  ("  the  black  drink  ")  with  the 
headmen,  as  became  visitors  of  distinction  ?  Nevertheless, 
as  they  resumed  their  progress,  Push-koosh  himself,  with 
the  interest  which  a  man  of  an  active,  outdoor  life  must 
needs  feel  in  athletic  feats,  glanced  again  and  again  over  his 
shoulder  at  the  expert  divers. 

"  I  wonder  they  don't  drown  !  "  he  said  at  last  sincerely. 
Then  perhaps  equally  sincerely,  "  I  wish  they  would ! " 

"  Mon  tendre  Bebe  !  "  cried  the  mercurial  Frenchman  in 
delight.  The  incongruity  daily  illustrated  between  the  cruel, 
savage  traits  of  the  chief  and  his  gentle,  infantile  sobriquet 
was  of  an  unceasing  and  engaging  drollery  to  Laroche's 
mind,  and  doubtless  often  proved  of  service  in  keeping  ami 
cable  relations  between  them. 

Wending  their  way  through  the  scattered  dwellings  of 
the  town,  and  skirting  the  rows  of  log  cabins  on  each  side 
of  the  "  beloved  square/'  they  approached  the  state-house 
or  rotunda  hard  by,  built  on  the  summit  of  a  high,  artificial 
mound  of  earth.  The  circuit  of  the  fifteen  Cherokee  towns  3 
burned  by  Colonel  Grant,  commanding  the  British  forces, 
in  the  punitive  measures  following  his  victory  at  Etchoee 
the  previous  year,  the  Indians  being  powerless  to  resist,  as 
their  ammunition  was  exhausted,  did  not  extend  so  far  as 
Tellico  Great,  and  therefore  its  aspect  was  as  before  the  war, 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  9 

save  indeed  for  the  tokens  of  the  prowess  of  the  Cherokees 
themselves  —  the  great  dismantled  Fort  London,  still  stand 
ing  a  massive,  lonely  shadow  in  the  distance,  which  they 
had  blockaded  and  reduced,  massacring  the  garrison,  and 
here  and  there  down  the  river  the  stark  chimneys  of  the 
burned  dwellings  of  the  murdered  British  colonists.  A 
white  glimmer  stole  out  of  the  tall,  narrow  portal  of  the 
conical  state-house,  which  showed  dark  and  solid  against 
the  ethereal  shadows  of  the  atmosphere.  For  the  blue  dusk 
had  fallen  on  the  enchanted  land.  The  wooded  mountains 
loomed  dim  and  sombre  on  the  clear  horizon ;  the  encom 
passing  primeval  forests  were  thronged  with  glooms ;  the 
river  was  now  a  gray  shadow,  and  now  an  elusive,  silver 
glister ;  the  many  lowly  roofs  of  the  dwellings  of  the  Indian 
town  were  dully  glimpsed  here  and  there  in  the  light  that 
flickered  out  through  the  open  doors  from  hearthstones  all 
aglow ;  and  as  the  officer  paused  on  the  high  mound  at  the 
portal  of  the  state-house,  and  looked  back  over  the  clare- 
obscure  of  the  unaccustomed  scene,  he  caught  the  scintilla 
tions  of  a  star  a-glitter  in  the  pallid  expanse  of  the  pearly 
skies.  It  was  like  a  signal  to  him.  Aldebaran  !  how  long 
since  he  had  seen  it,  poised  over  a  craggy  mountain  summit, 
sending  its  brilliant,  red  lustres  down  through  the  fringes 
of  the  evergreen  pine.  Not  thus,  not  thus  had  he  seen  it 
since  the  star  and  he  were  together  at  home  !  It  was  like 
the  sudden  greeting  of  a  friend  in  a  far  and  foreign  land. 
He  responded  instantly  as  to  a  personal  appeal.  He  turned 
suddenly  and  airily  kissed  his  hand,  the  brilliant  star  shat 
tered  into  a  thousand  stars  among  the  tears  in  his  eyes. 
Push-koosh,  accustomed  to  ebullitions  of  his  emotional,  sus 
ceptible  nature,  gave  him  but  one  glance  of  superficial  sur 
prise,  and  together  they  entered  the  dome-like  building. 
The  red  clay  Walls  of  its  interior  were  illumined  by  the 
white  light  of  the  burning  split  canes,  while  the  dim,  blue 
scene  beneath  the  home-star  lay  outside  in  the  darkness. 


10  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

Only  for  one  moment  did  Laroche  realize  the  poignancy 
of  exile,  although  the  homesick  pang  for  the  recollection 
of  his  kindred  and  his  far-distant  birthplace  was  supple 
mented  by  another  hardly  less  acute,  with  a  spurious 
domiciliary  sense,  for  the  scenes  at  the  fort,  his  quarters, 
the  presence  of  his  brother  officers.  The  more  valid  cause 
of  troublous  thought  and  sense  of  solitude,  —  that  he  was 
apart  from  them  all,  alone  among  wild  and  bloody  sav 
ages,  the  Choctaws  of  the  French  alliance  hardly  less  to 
be  feared  in  their  alert  dissimulation  and  treacherous  habit 
than  the  open  ferocity  of  the  Cherokees  of  the  British  fac 
tion,  the  only  man  of  his  country  in  a  hundred  miles  of 
these  dense  and  sombre  wildernesses,  in  a  torn  and  dis 
tracted  region  subject  to  a  national  enemy,  —  these  practical 
considerations  did  not  smite  him  at  all.  Even  his  aesthetic 
griefs  were  all  forgotten  in  another  instant,  and  with  his 
swift,  volatile  transitions  he  was  absorbed  in  the  interior  of 
the  building.  It  was  large  enough  to  accommodate  an  audi 
ence  of  several  hundred  people,  and  ample  illumination 
was  afforded  by  the  split  cane,  which,  arranged  in  lines  and 
serpentine  convolutions  along  a  low  mound  of  earth  in  the 
centre  of  the  clay  floor  and  burning  only  at  one  end,  was 
consumed  very  gradually,  and  would  furnish  light  for  a  con 
siderable  time.  The  cane  gave  out  but  little  smoke,  ethe 
real,  hazy,  vaguely  blue,  mounting  into  the  shadowy  vault 
of  the  lofty  dome  above  the  heads  of  the  crowd.  Around 
the  interior  of  the  building,  some  four  feet  distant  from  the 
wall  and  supporting  the  unseen  timbers  of  the  roof,  was  a 
series  of  columns,  and  in  the  space  between  this  colonnade 
and  the  wall  was  a  continuous  divan  or  bench,  deftly  made 
of  cane,  artificially  whitened,  and  extending  all  around  the 
circular  structure.  Here  on  the  further  side,  opposite  the 
door,  were  seated  the  headmen  of  the  town,  while  those  of 
lower  grade  were  ranged  according  to  rank,  to  the  right  and 
to  the  left.  The  more  insignificant  or  younger  tribesmen 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  11 

stood  in  the  open  spaces  nearest  the  entrance,  and  seated 
on  the  floor  on  either  side  of  the  narrow  portal  were  groups 
of  women,  admitted  in  lenient  indulgence  of  feminine 
curiosity. 

The  two  strangers  were  conducted  as  visitors  of  distinc 
tion  to  seats,  one  on  either  side  of  Moy  Toy.  The  barba 
rous  Choctaw,  with  his  quick,  racial  adaptation  to  all  the 
minutiae  of  ceremonial,  peculiarly  elaborate  in  its  obser 
vance,  with  his  grace,  his  fitting  words,  his  proud  yet  affable 
demeanor,  was  hardly  more  acceptable  to  the  Indian  scheme 
of  etiquette  than  the  Frenchman,  foreign,  white,  strange, 
though  he  was.  There  was  something  about  this  officer 
that  appealed  singularly  to  the  vivid  imagination  of  the 
Cherokees,  —  the  silken  softness  of  his  courtesy,  his  easily 
stirred  and  obvious  sentimental  emotions,  his  volatile  plea 
sure  in  the  passing  moment,  his  quick  changeableness  in 
every  current  of  the  air,  and  yet  incongruously,  a  certain 
bellicose  keenness,  and  steadiness,  and  hardness  in  the 
glance  of  his  bland  eyes.  He  was  like  a  military  butter 
fly,  if  one  could  but  attribute  the  potentiality  of  danger 
and  venom  and  antagonism  to  so  aerial  and  brilliant  a  flut- 
terer.  His  very  gestures  riveted  their  attention  as  he  ex 
pressively  shrugged  his  shoulders  or  lifted  his  eyebrows  in 
gay  surprise,  or  contracted  them  in  frowning  doubt.  These 
eyebrows  were  dark  and  distinctly  marked,  and  he  had 
long,  dark  lashes,  but  his  eyes  were  of  a  light  brown  tint 
such  as  gravel  shows  when  clear  water  runs  above  a  sun 
lit  channel.  He  wore  his  own  light  brown  hair  in  lieu 
of  a  fashionable  wig,  but  the  long  queue  and  the  curls  on 
the  temples  were  heavily  powdered,  which  was  of  compli 
mentary  significance ;  for  it  was  by  no  means  the  habit  of 
the  French  officers  to  submit  to  the  gene  of  such  vanities 
while  on  the  march  in  the  wilderness,  although  in  New 
Orleans  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil  had  long  sought  to  main 
tain  some  state,  since  indeed  he  had  first  succeeded  Bien- 


12  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

ville  as  governor  of  Louisiana,  and  fostered  manners  of 
ceremony,  as  he  afterwards  did  in  Canada,  whither  he 
was  now  transferred.  The  suggestion  that  Laroche  was 
charged  with  a  secret  mission  within  a  mission  added  im 
portance  to  his  personality,  which  Push-koosh  obviously 
resented,  now  and  again  assertively  flaunting  his  few  Cher 
okee  phrases,  even  in  addressing  his  quasi  interpreter,  and 
more  than  once  essaying  some  very  queer  French.  The  men 
looked  at  the  officer  with  intense  curiosity,  and  the  women, 
as  ever  addicted  to  novelty,  with  open-eyed  admiration,  as 
he  smoked  the  "  friend-pipe  "  while  he  sat  beside  Moy  Toy, 
who  in  his  finest  otter-skin  robe  was  all  a-glitter  with  many 
swaying  fringes  of  "  roanoke,"  with  a  broad,  gleaming  collar 
of  white  swan's  down,  and  with  streaks  of  white  clay  across 
his  forehead.  If  Laroche  dreamed  of  the  approaching  or 
deal,  he  awaited  it  with  the  calm  of  a  philosopher  and  the 
courage  of  a  soldier. 

Presently  there  entered  two  "  beloved  men,"  each  bear 
ing  a  conch  shell  high  in  the  right  hand.  They  first 
crossed  the  apartment,  one  going  to  the  right,  the  other  to 
the  left,  singing  mystic  words  in  a  low  tone  as  they  came ; 
then  once  more  taking  a  transverse  course,  they  met  in  front 
of  Moy  Toy  and  the  two  guests  of  distinction,  to  whom 
they  presented,  with  both  hands,  the  two  shells  full  of  the 
so-called  consecrated  beverage.  As  these  were  lifted,  with 
both  hands,  to  the  lips  of  the  guests,  the  two  "  beloved 
men  "  broke  forth  with  a  sonorous  bass  note,  "  Yo  !  "  then 
with  a  tenor  effect  they  sang  the  syllable,  "  He ! "  pro 
longed  to  the  utmost  possibility  of  holding  the  breath,  dur 
ing  which  sound  the  visitor  must  continue  to  drink  the 
cacina.  It  required,  perhaps,  all  the  strength  of  mind  and 
stomach  which  the  French  officer  could  muster,  but  he  did 
not  desist  nor  lower  the  shell  till  the  gasping  "  Wall !  " 
placed  a  period  to  his  torments. 

Others  then  partook  of  the,  black  drink  in  turn,  and  pre- 


A  SPECTRE  OF   POWER  13 

sently  amidst  the  wreaths  of  blue  smoke  and  the  white 
flare  of  the  burning  cane,  while  the  earthen  drums  began 
to  beat  sonorously,  sinuous,  leaping  shadows  were  flung 
across  the  hard,  clay  floor  and  on  the  red  walls  of  the  cir 
cular  building ;  for  the  eagle-tail  dance  was  in  progress  in 
the  presence  of  the  honored  guests,  the  great  fans  of  feath 
ers  waving  high  in  the  uplifted  hands  of  the  agile  warriors, 
as  they  sprang  elastically  into  the  air,  exhibiting  many  intri 
cate  steps  and  difficult  attitudes. 

These  solemn  politico-religious  ceremonies  of  welcome 
concluded,  the  Cherokees  gave  themselves  over  to  various 
devices  to  amuse  and  entertain  their  guests,  for  this  was 
a  characteristic  trait  of  their  hospitality.  There  would  be 
horse-races  on  the  morrow  and  dances  again,  but  without 
significance  either  political  or  religious,  and  long  and  elabo 
rate  feastings,  for  they  could  set  forth  a  table  with  "  fifty 
different  viands."  The  Cherokees  had  not  at  this  period 
begun  the  downward  course,  —  the  relinquish  ment  of  their 
national  customs,  primitive  manufactures,  religion,  method 
of  government,  habits  of  extreme  cleanliness,  —  the  whole 
sale  degeneration  which  seems  inevitable  before  new  stand 
ards,  new  customs,  new  religion,  a  new  nationality,  can  be 
adjusted  to  a  people  in  a  state  of  transition.  The  night 
being  as  yet  but  little  spent,  one  of  their  ancient  panto* 
mimes  4  was  essayed  for  the  entertainment  of  the  guests ; 
and  during  its  performance  the  frequency  of  the  ringing 
laugh  of  the  French  officer,  and  the  grunt  of  approval  of 
the  Choctaw  chief,  brought  the  same  expression  of  grati 
fied  complacency  and  chastened  thankfulness  to  the  anxious 
faces  of  Moy  Toy  and  the  other  headmen  of  Tellico  Great 
that  sophisticated  hosts  now  wear  upon  the  success  of  an 
entertainment  upon  which  important  interests  depend.  It 
began  with  a  surprise.  Suddenly  a  bulky  shadow  fell  within 
the  doorway,  —  the  women  clustering  about  the  entrance 
shrieked  in  a  sort  of  delighted  affright  and  scuttled  aside. 


14  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

The  heavy,  guttural  laugh  of  the  Indian  —  a  merry  soul  at 
his  sports  —  fell  iteratively  on  the  air.  A  hear  had  entered, 
clumsy,  heavily  shuffling,  snuffing  tentatively  about,  evi 
dently  to  be  imagined  as  ranging  the  woods,  and  with  now 
and  then  a  glance  over  his  shoulder  to  see  another  bear 
ponderously  lumbering  in.  So  close  was  the  imitation  of 
the  ursine  gait  and  ungainliness,  so  crafty  the  disguise  in 
the  beast's  paws  and  hide,  distended  to  full  proportions  by 
concealed  wooden  hoops,  that  one  might  have  believed  the 
manifestation  genuine  but  for  a  lamenting  "  stage-whisper," 
as  it  were,  delivered  in  plaintive  Cherokee,  touching  a  bit 
of  the  burning  cane  which  had  lodged  upon  the  slant  of  a 
too  inquisitive  snout  nosing  about  the  fire.  It  was  hastily 
brushed  off  by  one  of  the  young  tribesmen  of  the  audience, 
all  of  whom  laughed  gleefully  at  the  mischance  and  the 
helpless  plight  of  the  singed  Bruin. 

And  now  entered  two  hunters  in  full  sylvan  array.  The 
bears  skulked,  chiefly  among  the  audience ;  the  nimrods 
stalked  them  ;  the  bears  fled  ;  the  hunters  pursued  ;  the 
beasts  turned  at  bay,  —  when  the  hunters  themselves  fled 
frantically,  amidst  howls  of  derision  from  the  younger  peo 
ple.  This  mockery  seemed  to  restore  the  nerve  of  the 
hunters,  who  presently  returned  to  the  effort  and  with  such 
ardor  that  they  finally  "treed"  the  bears,  who  nimbly 
climbed  the  sleek,  round  columns  that  supported  the  roof  of 
the  edifice.  Thence  they  were  pulled  down  forcibly,  first 
by  one  foot,  then  the  others ;  at  last  all  fell,  hunters  and 
bears  together,  in  an  undiscriminated  heap  on  the  floor, 
where  after  a  terrific  mock  struggle,  the  bears  were  dis 
patched  by  the  expedient  of  cutting  their  throats,  with  a 
vast  effusion  of  blood  and  howls  of  remonstrance  from  the 
beasts,  expressed  in  excellent  Cherokee. 

The  two  vanquished  animals  as  early  as  practicable  crept 
out  of  their  skins,  left  weltering  in  the  blood  on  the  floor, 
and  mingled  with  their  admirers  in  the  audience,  laughing 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  15 

a  great  deal  and  discussing  the  play  :  —  how  the  struggle 
might  have  been  prolonged  but  for  this  and  that ;  how  one 
bear,  according  to  his  own  account,  need  not  have  been 
killed  at  all,  so  expert  a  beast  was  he,  except  that  he  had 
yielded  himself  at  last  a  sacrifice  to  the  popular  entertain 
ment  ;  and  how  one  hunter  could  have  easily  slain  this 
same  boastful  bear  at  the  very  outset  by  a  single  blow  on 
the  head,  to  which  his  more  than  bearish  awkwardness  ex 
posed  him,  but  was  moved  to  spare  him  and  thus  extend 
his  career,  also  from  the  disinterested  motive  of  promoting 
and  conserving  the  sport  of  the  indulgent  audience. 

It  was  all  indeed  very  cleverly  done,  as  even  Laroche 
thought,  who  had  seen  pantomimes  in  Paris,  and  Push- 
koosh  manifested  as  much  hilarious  good  will  as  the  Choc- 
taw  "  Prince  Baby  "  ever  permitted  himself  to  experience. 
The  French  officer,  however,  despite  his  absorption  in  the 
histrionic  display,  had  not  been  unmindful  of  the  notables 
in  the  audience  either  in  Paris  or  here.  More  than  once 
to-night  his  gaze  was  caught  by  a  pair  of  eyes  large  and 
gentle,  luminous  as  a  deer's  and  as  untamed  in  expression, 
appropriately  set  in  the  face  of  one  of  the  Cherokee  women. 
She  was  hardly  in  her  first  youth,  although  she  seemed  sin 
gularly  fresh,  alert,  spirited,  enjoying  the  pantomime  with 
childish  delight.  She  was  evidently  not  less  than  twenty- 
two  or  three  years  of  age,  and  he  being  rather  elderly  himself, 
—  some  twenty-eight  years,  —  thought  this  well  advanced 
in  life  and  an  age  of  wisdom.  She  was  slender  and,  like 
all  the  Cherokees,  of  notable  height,  and  when  the  crowd 
was  out  of  the  state-house  he  saw  her  again,  glimmering 
with  willowy  grace  in  the  moonlight.  The  distorted,  gibbous 
sphere  of  pearl  was  high  above  the  violet  mountains  and 
the  gray  and  misty  valleys,  and  he  thought  the  woman 
beautiful  and  picturesquely  placed  in  the  solemn  and  splen 
did  environment  of  the  ranges,  for  he  was  accustomed  to  the 
bizarre  details  of  savage  raiment.  The  skirt  of  her  tunic-like 


16  A   SPECTRE    OF   POWER 

garb  of  white,  dressed  doeskin  reached  a  trifle  below  the  knee, 
and  she  wore  the  long,  white,  doeskin  buskin,  fitting  closely, 
that  came  half  as  high ;  around  each  leg,  below  the  knee, 
was  tied  a  soft,  dressed  otter-skin,  hung  with  glittering, 
metal  "bell  buttons,"  that  tinkled  as  she  walked.  Her 
hair,  anointed  and  glossy  in  the  moonlight,  was  tied  and 
dressed  high  on  the  head,  and  was  stuck  full  of  the  quills 
of  the  white  pigeon.  Her  head  was  clearly  defined  against 
the  dark  blue  of  the  instarred  sky,  as  she  threw  it  backward 
and  gazed  at  the  moon  as  if  to  verify  some  calculation  of 
time,  its  light  full  in  her  lustrous  eyes.  Then  she  turned, 
and  running  swiftly  past,  disappeared  in  the  violet  shadows. 

He  did  not  soon  think  of  her  again.  She  was  only 
a  picturesque  element  in  this  state  of  quaint  barbarity, 
a  momentary  incident  in  the  scenes  of  an  evening  over 
crowded  with  impressive  grotesqueries.  He  had  no  idea 
to  whom  Mingo  Push-koosh  alluded  when  he  said  sud 
denly,  "  Mho  in-ta-na-ah  !  "  (The  woman  has  mourned  the 
appointed  time !) 

The  two  French  emissaries  were  alone  now ;  they  had 
been  conducted  to  a  building  called  the  stranger-house,  de 
signed  for  the  accommodation  of  casual  guests,  and  which 
was  assigned  to  them  to  be  their  headquarters  during 
their  stay.  It  too  was  furnished  with  the  row  of  cane 
divans  around  the  walls,  which  served  as  benches  during 
the  day  and  as  beds  at  night.  The  house  was  the  usual 
cabin  of  the  Indians,  built  without  nails,  or  a  hinge,  or  a 
bit  of  metal  in  any  sort,  yet  "  genteel  and  convenient  and 
so  very  secure,  as  if  it  were  to  screen  them  from  an  ap 
proaching  hurricane,"  says  an  old  British  trader,  who  lived 
for  many  years  in  one  of  them.  The  posts  were  of  the 
most  durable  wood  and  deeply  set  in  the  ground,  the  tim 
bers  were  accurately  fitted  to  one  another,  the  wall  plates, 
rafters,  and  eave  boards  had  been  all  stanchly  bound  to 
gether  with  the  elastic  splints  of  white  oak  or  hickory,  and 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  17 

with  strips  of  wet  buffalo  hide,  which  tighten  and  harden 
as  they  dry.  A  partition  separated  the  room  from  another, 
wherein  was  disposed  the  Choctaw  escort.  Within  and 
without,  the  building  was  whitewashed  with  the  coarse, 
marly  clay  of  the  region,  and  the  walls  sent  back  with  re 
sponsive,  silver  glimmers  the  moonlight,  falling  through 
the  narrow  door  and  into  the  face  of  the  officer,  who  had 
stretched  himself  at  length  in  full  uniform  on  the  divan,  to 
rest  a  bit  before  divesting  himself  of  his  military  finery  and 
disposing  himself  to  slumber.  The  ceremonies  and  excite 
ments  of  the  evening,  following  a  day  of  exertion  and  hard 
marching,  had  resulted  in  making  his  eyelids  heavy. 

"  Omeh !  "  (Yes !)  he  assented,  hardly  hearing  the  re 
mark,  and  answering  at  random. 

Push-koosh  sat  upright  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room 
as  if  he  could  know  no  fatigue,  and  gazed  loweringly  across 
at  the  Frenchman. 

"  Che-a-sa-ah  !  "  (I  am  displeased  with  you  !)  the  Choc- 
taw  hissed  out.  "  What  makes  your  lying  tongue  so 
strong  ?  " 

The  French  lieutenant  roused  himself.  "  Mon  cher  en 
fant"  he  declared,  "  I  know  you  consider  a  lie  no  disgrace, 
it  being  your  daily  food,  but  I  have  told  you  once,  and  I 
tell  you  again,  that  if  you  throw  it  into  my  teeth  I  will 
beat  that  flat  head  of  yours  flatter  than  it  is  !  " 

"  You  don't  even  know  of  whom  I  am  speaking  —  you 
answer  like  a  child !  "  said  Push-koosh  in  a  mollified  tone. 

Something  had  come  to  him  out  of  the  night,  the  moon 
light,  the  soft  lustre  of  dark  eyes,  —  something  as  intan 
gible  as  the  flickering  illusions  of  the  heat  lightning,  as 
inexplicable  as  the  fleeting  wind,  as  tenuous  as  the  wing  of 
a  moth,  —  a  fancy  !  —  and  he  must  needs  talk  of  it. 
Therefore  he  would  concede.  He  would  forego  his  resent 
ment  for  this  cavalier  inattention.  He  smiled  as  if  he  had 
been  in  jest. 


18  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

"  Unto,  ?  "  (Well  ?)  said  Larocbe  interrogatively. 

11  Eho  in-ta-na-ah  !  "  Push-koosh  repeated. 

The  versatile  Frenchman  was  sore  smitten  with  sleep. 
"  What  woman  ?  "  he  said  drowsily.  "  What  mourning  ?  " 

"  Her  husband  is  dead  !  The  Muscogee  killed  him  three 
years  ago  !  "  said  Push-koosh,  with  stalwart  satisfaction  in 
the  fact.  "And  she  has  mourned  the  appointed  time. 
You  could  have  seen,  hut  that  you  are  a  blind  French  mole, 
that  her  hair  is  no  longer  flowing  loose,  but  is  anointed 
and  tied  and  dressed  full  of  white  quills !  " 

Sleep  suddenly  quitted  its  hold  on  the  French  lieuten 
ant.  He  lifted  himself  alertly  on  one  elbow  and  looked 
animatedly  at  Push-koosh.  "Eho  chookomaf"  (The 
beautiful  woman !)  he  cried  with  enthusiasm.  "  Not  so 
much  of  a  mole  as  you  think !  Pas  si  bete,  mon  bijou. 
Pas  cette  espece  de  bete  !!  " 

He  shook  his  wise  head  with  emphasis  and  laid  himself 
down  again.  Push-koosh  glowered  at  him  with  a  sudden, 
angry  fear.  This  fervor  of  admiration  on  the  part  of  the 
French  lieutenant  boded  ill  to  that  ethereal  fancy  which 
had  fallen  about  the  Choctaw  chief  as  lightly  as  a  gossamer 
web  of  the  weaving  spider,  and  now  held  him  like  a  net 
work  of  steel  chains.  He  said  abruptly,  with  seeming  ir 
relevance  and  his  infantile  candor,  "  I  wish  you  had  killed 
yourself  last  week  !  " 

For  the  mercurial  Frenchman  had  often  seizures  of  deep 
despondency,  in  which  he  sometimes  announced  with  sin 
cerity  that  he  designed  to  place  a  period  to  his  existence. 
Such  a  crisis  had  supervened  on  the  journey  hither,  in 
which,  however,  Push-koosh  was  concerned  as  little  as 
might  be.  True,  there  had  been  some  peculiarly  irritating 
incidents  in  their  relations  ;  they  baited  each  other,  and 
bickered  on  slight  occasion,  and  argued  violently  on  untenable 
grounds,  for  which  neither  cared  an  iota,  and  conducted 
themselves  generally  as  young  men  do  when  constrained 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  19 

to  work  together  with  but  scant  personal  sympathy.  But 
Laroche's  discontent  had  a  far  more  serious  source.  He 
was  disappointed  of  the  distinction  which  he  had  hoped  to 
attain  in  this  mission. 

Apart  from  the  diplomatic  and  secret  details  with  which 
he  was  intrusted,  and  the  check  that  he  was  expected  to 
maintain  upon  the  loyalty,  or  rather  the  suspected  disloy 
alty  of  Push-koosh,  whose  personal  presence  was  necessary 
to  reconcile  certain  ancient  enmities  between  the  Choctaws 
and  Cherokees,  and  thus  facilitate  and  set  forth  the  spe 
cial  values  of  the  French  alliance,  Laroche  was  charged 
with  an  affair  of  professional  importance  which  Push-koosh 
imagined  was  the  only  reason  that  he  had  been  ordered 
to  accompany  the  Choctaw  embassy,  —  so  crafty  were 
the  methods  of  the  French  with  the  crafty  savages.  La- 
roche's  open  instructions  contemplated  the  investigation  of 
certain  obstructions  in  the  Riviere  des  Ckeraquis  (since 
called  the  Great  Tennessee),  which  had  hitherto  proved  an 
insuperable  bar  to  the  continuous  transportation  of  goods 
from  New  Orleans  to  the  Cherokee  Nation  by  means  of  that 
great  waterway.  Not  trinkets,  the  Indians  craved,  not 
paints,  nor  beads,  nor  even  cutlery,  but  those  costly  trea 
sures  of  arms,  powder,  and  lead  which  the  Cherokees  valued 
beyond  all  things,  because  without  constant  and  adequate 
supplies  of  such  munitions  of  war  they  could  never  hope 
to  take  the  field  again,  eventually  throw  off  the  yoke  of 
the  British,  and  keep  foothold  on  the  land  which  was  their 
own,  and  which  they  loved  with  all  the  fervent  devotion  of 
the  mountaineer  to  his  native  heights.  Therefore  they  had 
hitherto  listened  to  the  counsels  of  the  French,  who  were 
now  especially  eager  to  meet  all  expectations,  perhaps  be 
cause  they  were  still  involved  themselves  in  hostilities  with 
the  English  elsewhere,  perhaps  because  they  still  cherished 
that  old  scheme  of  so  many  visionaries  —  from  the  logical 
plans  of  Iberville,  futilely  projected  so  long  ago,  to  the 


20  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

subtle  intrigues  of  the  German  Jesuit,  Christian  Priber, 
only  twenty-five  years  previous  —  to  invade  the  Carolinas 
and  Georgia  at  the  head  of  twelve  thousand  warriors  of 
confederated  Indian  tribes. 

But  the  transportation  of  supplies  to  the  Cherokees  by 
pack-train  overland  was  impracticable,  since  the  intervening 
country  was  held  by  the  hostile  Chickasaws,  ever  devoted 
to  the  British,  and  the  French  had  still  a  lively  recollection 
of  their  defeats  by  this  intrepid  tribe  at  the  towns  of  Ash- 
wick-boo-ma,  where  D'Artaguette  met  his  cruel  fate,  and 
Ackia,  the  scene  of  the  discomfiture  of  Bienville.  There 
fore  in  the  Cherokee  War,  a  large  pettiaugre  laden  with  war 
like  stores  was  sent  up  the  Mississippi  from  New  Orleans, 
armed  with  swivel  guns  to  repress  the  Chickasaws,  who  in 
flying  squads  nevertheless  harassed  the  progress  of  the  boat 
by  a  sharp  musketry  delivered  from  the  river  bluffs.  This 
danger  passed,  the  expedition  failed  for  a  different  reason. 
It  returned  bootless,  having  abandoned  the  attempt  on  ac 
count  of  the  insurmountable  obstructions  to  navigation  in 
the  Cherokee  River. 

The  French  authorities  at  New  Orleans  had  good  reason 
to  doubt  the  report  of  the  extent  of  these  difficulties,  for 
hitherto  their  boats  had  ascended  occasionally  to  Great 
Tellico,  —  perhaps  in  a  different  stage  of  the  water.  They 
ordered  a  survey  of  the  locality  with  a  view  of  such  re 
moval  of  the  reefs  as  might  afford  a  practicable  channel  at 
all  seasons,  —  a  second  earnest  effort  to  meet  the  needs  of 
the  Cherokees,  with  a  systematic  and  continuous  supply  of 
stores,  being  in  contemplation. 

Laroche,  who  had  served  as  a  lieutenant  of  engineers  as 
well  as  of  artillery,  had  been  charged  with  the  duty  of  re 
moving  the  obstruction  if  practicable,  and  a  pettiaugre  laden 
with  such  means  as  were  deemed  fitted  to  further  this  design 
had  been  dispatched  up  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  in  ad 
vance  of  the  expedition  overland  from  Fort  Tombecbe  to 


A  SPECTEE   OF  POWER  21 

meet  him  at  the  point  where  the  navigation  of  the  Cherokee 
Biver  became  difficult.  The  young  officer  had  expected  to 
encounter  some  reefs,  a  goodish  stretch  of  rapids  perhaps,  a 
few  dangerous,  troublesome  rocks.  He  found  vast  whirl 
pools,  and  endless  vistas  of  maddened  waters,  and  shoals, 
shoals,  shoals,  —  twenty  miles  of  muscle  shoals,  three  miles 
wide.  Even  Push-koosh  had  cried  out  in  amaze  at  the  phe 
nomenon  of  the  turbulent  rapids,  declaring  that  the  devils, 
the  hottuk  ookproose,  were  dancing  under  the  waters,  for  he 
had  heard  for  ten  miles  the  devil's  own  song  that  they  sung, 
tarooa  ookpro'sto  (the  tune  of  the  accursed  one). 

As  Laroche  realized  the  total  impossibility  of  the  un 
dertaking,  and  saw  vanishing  all  his  hopes  of  distinction  in 
this  valid  and  valuable  service,  he  forthwith  sat  down  on  a 
rock  beside  the  rioting  waters,  bowed  his  head  on  his  hands, 
and  cried  out  to  a  "juste  del"  that  this  was  really  too 
strong,  that  there  was  no  use  in  trying  to  live  any  longer, 
and  that  he  was  minded  to  kill  himself. 

Suicide  is  always  more  or  less  fashionable  among  French 
men.  Perhaps  the  passionate  grief  of  his  utterance  was  not 
wholly  devoid  of  intention.  But  as  he  lifted  his  dreary 
eyes,  the  animated  interest  and  curiosity  to  see  him  take 
his  life  which  the  face  of  Push-koosh  expressed  effectually 
deterred  him.  The  spectacle  would  be  too  delightfully 
gratifying  to  the  Choctaw !  The  humor  of  the  situation 
appealed  to  the  mercurial  French  lieutenant,  and  the  pen 
dulum  swung  back  again. 

The  thought  of  self-destruction  had  not  recurred  to  his 
mind  until  to-night,  when  Push-koosh  mentioned  his  boot 
less  threat. 

"  But  why,  mon  pauvre  JBebe,  mon  petit  chou,  —  why 
should  you  wish  that  I  had  killed  myself  ? "  Laroche 
demanded. 

Push-koosh  hesitated.  He  felt  that  his  jealousy  was 
a  derogation,  and  was  glad  that  his  hasty  words  had  not 


22  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

betrayed  it  to  the  officer,  whom  he  esteemed  a  dull,  inatten 
tive  fellow  at  best,  continually  occupied  with  his  little  idols, 
which  he  carried  in  a  box  and  would  let  no  one  else  touch, 
—  his  spy-glass,  his  spirit-level,  his  quadrant,  and  his  com 
pass,  which  last  he  declared  knew  the  north,  and  without 
which  he  could  not  draw  a  map,  as  Push-koosh  could  on 
a  gourd  or  a  bit  of  bark  or  a  stretch  of  clear  sand,  —  he 
knew  little,  very  little,  that  French  officer,  Laroche ! 

«  Unto,  —  Illet  minte  !  "  (Well  —  Death  is  coming  ! ) 
the  Choctaw  said  casually,  as  if  he  spoke  generally  and  at 
random. 

"  Not  yet !  not  yet !  "  cried  the  officer,  remembering  the 
diabolic  tumult  of  the  waters.  "  Let  the  devils  dance !  I 
can  be  merry  too !  I  have  a  scheme  to  outwit  them.  A 
great  thing,  my  Baby,  to  outwit  the  devils !  " 

Twice  he  paused  to  think  of  it  in  laying  aside  his  sword 
and  drawing  off  his  coat.  Push-koosh  made  no  move  to 
ward  preparing  for  slumber.  Long  after  the  lieutenant 
was  still,  quite  still,  beneath  the  delicately  dressed  and 
softened  panther  skins  that  sufficed  for  bedding  on  the 
elastic  cane-wrought  mattresses,  Push-koosh  sat  upright  on 
the  couch  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room  gazing  stead 
fastly  at  him,  —  the  long,  thin  figure  suggested  beneath  the 
folds  of  the  drapery  of  the  primitive  bed;  the  white 
powdered  hair  that  had  lost  much  of  its  frosty  touches 
streaming  backward,  long,  loose,  the  ends  slightly  curling ; 
the  eyes  meekly  closed ;  the  moonlight  in  the  white,  tired, 
sleeping  face,  youthful,  but  grave,  pensive,  saddened 
vaguely.  That  was  the  way,  perhaps,  he  would  have  looked 
had  he  taken  his  life  as  he  had  threatened.  And  Push- 
koosh,  still  intently  eyeing  him,  wished  again  that  he  had. 


II 

TOWARD  dawn  the  frogs,  antiphonally  chanting  down  by 
the  water-side,  ceased  their  chorusing  clamors.  Now  and 
again  a  croaking  voice  sounded  raucously  alone,  —  then 
came  silence.  The  moon  was  all  solitary  in  the  "  beloved 
square,"  —  not  even  an  errant  gust  of  wind  to  bear  her  com 
pany.  In  broad,  still,  white  effulgence  the  radiance  rested 
unbroken  on  the  sandy  stretch  and  the  dark,  narrow  row  of 
cabins,  devoted  to  public  and  official  business,  on  each  side 
of  the  quadrangular  space.  The  more  remote  dwellings  cast 
shadows  wherever  the  boughs  of  the  overhanging  trees  left 
the  ground  clear.  Here  too  was  silence,  save  in  one  hut 
whence  issued  the  voice  of  a  wakeful  infant,  as  boldly 
bawling  as  if  it  were  some  cherished  scion  of  civilization." 
Gradually,  insensibly,  the  world  took  on  an  aspect  of  gray 
dimness.  The  mountains  looming  around  began  to  defi 
nitely  darken.  The  stars  had  all  grown  faint ;  for  the  sun 
would  not  await  the  moon's  descent,  and  presently,  driving 
hard,  his  chariot  was  on  the  steep  eastern  summits ;  the 
song  of  birds,  the  trumpet-blast  of  the  wind,  the  whisper 
ing  voice  of  rustling  pines,  the  dash  of  glancing  waters, 
and  human  cries  of  joy  and  cheer  were  elicited  as  if  these 
matutinal  sounds  partook  of  the  quality  of  light. 

The  French  officer,  dead  beat,  still  slumbered,  but  Push- 
koosh  rose,  stretched  himself,  and  still  arrayed  in  his  splen 
did  ambassadorial  attire  went  out  into  the  freshness  of  the 
dawning  day  and  the  renewing  possibilities  of  the  world. 
A  man  who  hoped  to  make  naught  of  dancing  devils  should 
have  been  earlier  astir. 


24  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

There  was  a  scene  of  activity  down  at  the  river  bank. 
The  pettiaugre  of  their  expedition,  which  had  been  brought 
to  the  Muscle  Shoals  of  the  Cherokee  Eiver  laden  with 
powder  to  aid  in  the  removal  of  the  barriers  to  free  navi 
gation,  had  been  steered  with  great  difficulty  and  at  con 
siderable  risk  through  the  rapids,  repeatedly  grazing  the 
bottom,  although  it  was  a  much  smaller  craft  of  the  kind 
than  was  usual  for  the  conveyance  of  freight.  Proceeding 
thence  up  the  stream,  it  had  succeeded  in  passing  safely  the 
" whirl,"  the  "boiling  pot," — known  now  to  modern  en 
gineers  as  the  "  mountain  obstructions,"  —  and  albeit  some 
what  the  worse  for  the  hard  wear  of  its  experiment,  it  had 
finally  reached  the  smoother  waters  of  the  Little  Tennessee, 
and  continuing  a  placid  progress  along  its  curves,  was  com 
ing  in  to  land  at  the  town  of  Great  Tellico. 

It  was  the  intention  to  present  the  cargo  as  a  token  of 
amity  from  the  French  governor  to  the  town  of  Tellico, 
such  being  Laroche's  instructions  from  Kerlerec  in  case 
the  powder  could  not  be  used  in  the  removal  of  the  reefs. 
-  Only  a  few  of  the  Cherokees  were  on  the  bank,  and  in 
obedience  to  their  signaled  advice,  the  Choctaws  on  the  pet 
tiaugre  had  sheered  off  from  the  shallows,  where  a  landing 
had  been  at  first  contemplated,  and  where  the  craft  would 
have  gotten  aground  at  an  inconvenient  distance  from  the 
shore,  to  seek  a  deeper  haven  indicated  by  the  Cherokees, 
who,  as  they  ran  up  and  down,  gesticulated  violently  in  the 
sign  language,  and,  in  lieu  of  comprehensible,  articulate 
phrases,  uttered  wild  cries,  curiously  unmusical,  like  the  voice 
of  the  dumb. 

There  on  the  bank  was  Eve  (her  Indian  name  was  Aka- 
luka,  which  signifies  "a  whirlwind").  Overpowered  with 
curiosity  as  to  the  arrival  of  the  boat,  she  had  repaired  to 
the  scene.  Being  as  elaborately  appareled  as  on  the  pre 
ceding  evening,  it  is  fair  to  conclude  that  the  two  handsome 
strangers  had  not  been  altogether  forgotten.  They  were 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  25 

now,  however,  far  from  her  thoughts.  Like  a  frugal  female, 
she  was  wholly  absorbed  in  anxiety,  —  not  lest  an  awkward 
landing  should  endanger  or  submerge  many  pounds  of  pre 
cious  gunpowder,  a  princely  gift  from  the  French  govern 
ment  to  its  secret  friend,  the  important  municipality  of 
Great  Tellico,  especially  at  that  time  and  in  this  region, 
but  there  were  in  the  cargo  sundry  trifles  originally  intended 
as  presents  to  individuals  for  the  personal  propitiation  of 
certain  warriors,  and  she  was  solicitous  as  to  the  fate  of  one 
of  these  gauds.  It  was  a  scarf  of  thin  silk,  a  deep  red, 
with  a  golden  glimmer  of  broidery,  and  it  had  fallen  over 
the  gunwale  as  the  Choctaws,  no  great  boatmen  at  best, 
awkwardly  shifted  the  cargo  in  the  imminence  of  the  peril 
of  the  precious  freight.  All  unheeded,  the  scarf,  escaping 
from  its  flimsy  wrapping,  was  now  floating  away  to  deck  the 
insensate  wave. 

Standing  on  the  peak  of  a  high  rock,  and  distinct  against 
the  blue  sky,  like  some  delineation  in  white  crayon,  arrayed 
in  her  white,  dressed  doeskin  garb,  her  white  buskins,  the 
white  quills  in  her  black  hair,  she  shrieked  again  and  again 
to  the  laboring  Choctaws,  as  they  wearily  trimmed  the  boat, 
seeking  to  acquaint  them  with  their  loss,  and  adjuring  the 
rescue  of  the  property.  They  heard  her,  doubtless;  but 
if  they  understood  they  did  not  heed.  Their  freight  of 
gunpowder,  meaning  much  to  the  Cherokees  of  valiant  alli 
ance,  and  even  the  hope  of  emancipation  from  the  rule  of 
the  hated  British,  and  always  to  all  Indians  the  equivalent 
of  money,  of  food,  of  life  itself,  rendered  infinitely  unim 
portant  the  gewgaws  of  the  cargo,  such  as  the  red  scarf  so 
rapidly  floating  away  on  the  steel-gray  water.  Flesh  and 
blood  could  no  longer  endure  the  harrowing  sight,  —  at 
least  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Eve.  She  suddenly  held  up 
both  arms  above  her  head,  the  palms  pressed  together ;  she 
brought  them  downward  in  a  great,  sweeping  curve,  as  she 
bowed  forward,  and  with  an  alert  spring  plunged  from  the 
crag  into  the  deep  water  far  below. 


26  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

Push-koosh  noted  the  resounding  plash  and  held  his 
breath  for  a  moment,  so  daring  the  feat  seemed  to  the  un- 
aquatic  Choctaw.  He  watched  half  skeptically  the  succes 
sive  silver  circles  elastically  expanding  over  the  spot  where 
the  gray  water  had  closed  over  her  head,  as  if  he  scarcely 
expected  to  see  it  rise  again.  Presently  he  caught  a 
glimpse  of  it,  very  black  and  glossy  still,  but  far  out 
toward  the  middle  of  the  river.  She  was  swimming 
strongly  in  the  silver  gray  floods  and  approaching  the  red 
scarf,  that  had  now  a  wanton  wind  astir  in  its  folds  and 
threw  up  a  curving  edge  like  a  sail.  She  carefully  inter 
cepted  its  course  on  the  current,  and  holding  it  aloft  out 
of  the  water,  began  to  swim  with  one  hand,  still  strongly 
and  deftly  but  more  slowly,  toward  the  pettiaugre. 

Push-koosh' s  dark,  sombrely  lustrous  eyes  followed  her 
with  admiration.  This  method  of  progression  seemed  no 
longer  the  exercise  of  frogs.  She  lifted  her  head  and  her 
body  half  out  of  the  water  as  she  swam  almost  under  the 
bow  of  the  pettiaugre,  and  held  the  scarf  aloft  that  one  of 
the  Choctaw  boatmen  might  take  it.  The  one  nearest  at 
hand  desisted  from  his  work  and  looked  over  the  gunwale 
at  her  in  surprise.  Then  suddenly  he  lifted  his  head,  for 
a  sharp  halloo  came  from  the  bank.  He  understood  the 
words  shouted  to  him,  recognized  the  authority  of  Push- 
koosh,  and  giving  the  woman  only  a  shake  of  his  head,  by 
way  of  refusing  to  receive  the  bauble,  fell  once  more  to 
working  the  boat,  and  Akaluka,  with  the  rescued  scarf  still 
in  one  hand,  was  obliged  to  paddle  smartly  to  keep  from 
being  drawn  under  the  pettiaugre  by  the  suction,  as  the 
craft  once  more  drove  swiftly  forward,  cleaving  the  sunlit 
waves. 

There  was  nothing  further  for  the  Cherokee  girl  but  to 
swim  for  the  bank.  She  was  bewildered,  a  little  startled, 
full  of  wonder,  for  she  had  just  perceived  the  presence  of 
Push-koosh  upon  the  scene.  She  laid  her  course  for  a 


A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER  27 

point  distant  from  the  rock  upon  which  he  had  been  stand 
ing  while  shouting  his  command  to  the  boatman  to  refuse 
to  receive  the  scarf,  but  when,  still  swimming  with  one 
arm  and  holding  the  delicate  fabric  out  of  the  water  with 
the  other,  she  came  alongside  a  ledge  above  a  deep,  still 
pool,  he  was  here,  waiting  for  her,  and  gazing  down  at 
her. 

She  threw  her  head  far  back  as,  all  clad  in  white,  she 
lifted  her  body  half  out  of  the  water,  and  looking  up  at 
him  held  up  her  arm  and  offered  the  scarf. 

He  made  no  motion  to  take  it.  "  Ook-kak  !  "  (Swan  !) 
he  said.  "  Che  awalas  !  "  (I  shall  marry  you  !) 

He  said  no  more,  and  walked  away  instantly.  She 
scrambled  out  of  the  deep  water  and  stood  on  the  rock, 
looking  after  him  for  a  moment  with  the  scarf  still  in  her 
hand.  Then  with  it  still  in  her  hand  she  ran  home,  —  ran 
so  fast,  that  with  the  wind  and  the  sun  and  the  speed,  her 
hair  and  garments  were  almost  dry  when  she  reached  her 
house,  and  but  for  the  trophy  there  would  have  been  little 
to  confirm  the  details  of  this  strange  event  when  she  re 
counted  it  to  the  man  who  said  afterward,  "  You  must  blame 
the  woman ! " 

Now  this  personage  was  one  of  the  "  mad  young  men  " 
of  the  Cherokee  Nation  who  always  craved  war,  —  which, 
however,  seems  to  be  the  normal  attitude  of  mind  of  the 
young  officer  even  of  civilized  armies  and  accounted  sane. 
He  perceived  propitious  signs  in  the  evidently  impending 
proposition  of  a  Choctaw-Cherokee  alliance.  This  combina 
tion  aided  by  the  French  government  would  indeed  be  able 
to  strike  a  crushing  blow  to  the  British  power  in  the  Indian 
country.  The  experiment  was  obviously  to  be  made.  In 
termarriages  would  strengthen  the  Choctaw-Cherokee  bonds 
of  amity.  "  You  love  the  present,"  he  said  in  definite  af 
firmation. 

But  Eve,  ever  the  woman,  tossed  her  head.     Was  there 


28  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

no  man  in  all  the  Cherokee  Nation  to  marry  her,  she  asked 
in  laughing  mockery  and  coquettish  humility,  drawing  the 
scarf  back  and  forth  through  her  hands,  and  looking  far 
more  beautiful  than  her  wont  with  that  curious  embellish 
ment  of  beauty  which  a  realization  of  admiration  confers,  — 
no  man  at  all,  that  she  must  needs  marry  a  foreign  Choctaw 
who  spoke  no  language  that  a  sensible  person  could  under 
stand,  and  who  lived  far  away,  who  could  say  —  indeed, 
where  ?  —  in  the  moon,  perhaps  ! 

Whereupon  this  mad  young  warrior,  who  was  of  her  own 
kindred,  the  house  of  Ahowwe,  the  Deer  family,  told  her 
that  she  spoke  as  a  fool,  since  she  was  already  committed, 
for  she  had  taken  the  Choctaw's  present,  a  sign  that  she 
loved  it,  which  was  according  to  inflexible  etiquette  an  ac 
ceptance  of  his  suit. 

Then  she  grew  grave  and  a  little  frightened,  and  very 
voluble.  She  explained  that  she  had  had  no  intention  of 
taking  his  present,  and  had  kept  it  only  because  he  would 
not  receive  it  again,  and  she  had  no  words  that  he  could 
understand.  But  she  would  not  marry  a  man  to  whom  she 
could  not  speak  her  mind  (one  of  the  noblest  prerogatives 
of  a  wife)  and  live  with  him  in  the  moon  ! 

As  she  said  this,  she  looked  upward  with  her  great,  dark, 
liquid  eyes  to  the  moon,  still  white  in  the  western  sky,  but 
lace-like,  tenuous,  a  most  unsubstantial  presentment  of  a 
dwelling-place. 

The  young  man  of  the  house  of  Ahowwe  would  not  fol 
low  her  wandering  gaze  as  they  stood  together  under  a  tree 
in  front  of  her  house,  —  no  longer  her  dead  husband's  war- 
pole  marked  its  entrance,  the  peeled  sapling,  on  the  boughs 
of  which  the  weapons  of  the  warrior  were  hung  until  the 
stake  rotted  in  the  ground  and  fell.  The  young  kinsman 
was  experiencing  a  sudden  and  extreme  agitation  because  of 
her  perversity,  for  if  it  became  necessary  to  explain  the 
misunderstanding  to  the  Choctaw  at  this  crisis,  before  the 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  29 

proposals  of  the  French  authorities  were  made  to  the  head 
men  of  Tellico,  it  would  doubtless  greatly  anger  Mingo 
Push-koosh,  and  might  frustrate  the  full  disclosure  of  the 
measures  of  his  embassy.  Essential  details  might  be  per 
verted  or  entirely  withheld  in  malice  or  revenge.  And  thus 
the  French  alliance,  long  sought  by  both  nations,  might  fall 
to  the  ground.  It  was  a  complicated  train  of  reflection  that 
he  followed,  but  he  said  quite  simply,  and  with  a  cheerful 
air,  that  after  all  it  was  no  great  matter.  To  be  sure  she 
should  have  laid  the  scarf  at  the  feet  of  the  Choctaw  chief, 
as  he  did  not  receive  it  when  offered,  to  show  him  that  she 
did  not  love  his  present  and  that  his  suit  was  rejected.  But 
it  was  likely  that  Mingo  Push-koosh  had  half  forgotten  it 
by  now ;  he  was  of  so  great  esteem  in  his  own  country,  a 
prince  and  a  most  valiant  red  warrior !  He  was  even  sent 
to  the  Cherokee  nation  by  the  great  French  father  with  a 
splendid  French  officer  as  his  interpreter  !  Such  a  man  as 
that  would  not  care  —  he  had  too  much  to  think  of.  He 
himself,  her  young  kinsman,  would  make  it  all  right.  He 
would  see  Mingo  Push-koosh  and  return  the  scarf,  and  ex 
plain  that  she  was  only  one  of  those  stupid  people  who 
did  not  understand  aught,  and  he  would  also  lie  and  say 
that  she  was  shortly  to  be  married  to  a  man  who  had  no 
war-title  and  had  never  taken  but  a  single  scalp.  Mingo 
Push-koosh  would  not  care  for  her  after  such  a  description 
as  that ! 

As  he  offered  to  lay  hold  on  the  scarf  she  drew  back, 
shook  her  head,  breathed  very  fast,  and  finally  burst  into 
tears.  Whereupon  this  wise  young  man,  who  was  only 
called  "  mad,"  demanded  of  her  in  affected  surprise  why  she 
wasted  her  tears.  Surely  she  did  not  want  to  live  in  the 
moon  and  marry  a  Choctaw  chief,  even  though  he  had 
achieved  the  distinction  of  a  dozen  "  warrior's  marks  "  for 
his  prowess  in  battle  !  Why  did  she  not  give  up  the  scarf  ? 
—  he,  her  kinsman,  would  return  it  for  her,  and  the  great 


30  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

chief  would  not  care ;  for  he  would  tell  Mingo  Push-koosh 
of  a  handsomer  squaw  than  she,  and  younger  by  four  years, 
more  appropriate  to  make  a  splendid  marriage  such  as  this. 
Then  Eve  gave  herself  to  argument,  as  she  always  does, 
and  smartly  demanded  to  be  told  the  name  of  this  squaw 
more  beautiful  than  she,  and  most  pertinently  required  of 
him  to  disclose  the  reason,  since  her  attractions  were  so 
easily  eclipsed,  that  the  two  strangers,  the  French  officer  as 
well  as  the  Choctaw  chief,  must  always  gaze  at  her  in  the 
merrymaking  last  night,  —  why  did  not  their  eyes  seek 
those  younger  and  more  beautiful  squaws,  as  all  were  pre 
sent  ?  She  declared,  moreover,  that  she  would  not  give  her 
scarf  to  him.  He  doubtless  desired  to  make  himself  fine 
in  it  for  the  horse-races  (in  fact,  it  had  never  been  designed 
as  a  gift  to  a  mere  woman,  but  as  propitiation  for  some 
goodly  warrior,  to  rivet  his  affections  to  the  French  interest, 
and  to  be  worn  as  a  sash,  or  scarf,  or  turban,  or  in  any  way 
that  his  savage  fancy  for  decoration  might  dictate).  As  to 
the  scarf,  she  averred  that  it  was  hers,  and  she  would  keep 
it,  and  she  would  hear  no  more  of  his  sharp  speeches,  which 
made  her  heart  very  heavy.  The  day  was  wearing  on  and 
her  work  was  awaiting  her.  So  she  seated  herself  on  the 
protruding  roots  of  the  great  tree  in  front  of  her  dwelling, 
giving  the  final  deft  touches  to  a  large  mat  which  she  had 
been  weaving. 

The  "  mad  young  man  "  flung  away,  secretly  satisfied, 
but  with  a  discontented  and  affectedly  scornful  mien,  after 
the  manner  of  his  kind,  and  meeting  presently  a  congenial 
spirit  he  paused  to  detail  the  demonstration  of  the  Choctaw 
chief  and  its  reception  by  the  woman.  The  listener,  too, 
was  of  the  Deer  family,  and  not  insensible  of  the  value  and 
distinction  of  the  proposed  matrimonial  alliance.  But  he 
forthwith  freely  stigmatized  the  ambassador  as  a  "  mad 
young  man "  to  be  thinking  of  women  and  marriage  in  a 
crucial  national  crisis  such  as  this.  As  he  contemplated 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  31 

the  political  juncture,  he  could  not  sufficiently  applaud  the 
wisdom  of  the  other's  course  in  preventing  the  return  of 
the  scarf  and  the  consequent  affronting  of  the  Choctaw 
chief,  for  since  the  present  had  been  received  his  suit  was 
accepted  according  to  etiquette.  They  agreed  that  she  must 
marry  him,  —  as  at  heart  she  was  no  doubt  willing  to  do, 
but  must  needs  affect  reluctance  after  the  tiresome  fashion 
of  women,  and  talk  about  living  in  the  moon !  And  with 
a  scoff  at  such  feminine  follies,  which  they  declared  made 
their  hearts  weigh  6  very  heavy  to  contemplate,  these  "  mad 
young  men  "  separated,  each  going  his  own  way  cheer 
fully,  —  neither  of  them  being  threatened  with  a  doom  of 
living  far  away,  among  strangers  in  a  foreign  tribe,  in  a 
speechless  marriage. 

As  Akaluka  sat  under  the  tree  and  worked  at  her  mat  her 
own  heart  grew  heavier  still,  and  in  fact  she  hardly  knew 
what  to  make  of  it.  Now  arid  then  the  realization  of  the 
admiration  of  her  suitor  brought  a  curve  of  pride  to  her 
lips,  and  then  her  eyes  would  fill  with  tears  in  doubt,  and 
dismay,  and  anxiety,  —  all  those  troublous  vacillations  of 
sentiment  which  a  woman  naturally  experiences  in  such 
circumstances  ;  for  she  was,  perhaps,  not  the  first  woman, 
and  certainly  not  the  last,  who  has  accepted  a  suitor  with 
out  intending  to  marry  him,  and  cannot  perceive  definitely 
how  to  recede  from  an  engagement  that  has  become  unex 
pectedly  binding. 

The  man  in  her  thoughts  suddenly  passed,  —  the  Choctaw 
chief  with  the  French  officer.  Both  paused  as  their  eyes 
fell  upon  her.  She  was  tremulous,  perturbed,  appealing  as 
she  looked  up  from  her  lowly  posture.  A  mottling  of  dark 
ness  and  sunlight  was  about  the  verges  of  the  shadow  of 
the  great,  wide-spreading  tree,  but  only  a  dim,  green,  sub 
dued  atmosphere  where  she  sat  and  in  her  white  attire  and 
with  her  fishbone  needle  in  her  hand  wrought  an  added  em 
bellishment  of  embroidery  in  the  borders  of  her  painted  mat. 


32  A   SPECTRE    OF  POWER 

Both  men  perceived  her  agitation.  The  officer,  unaware 
of  the  incident  of  the  morning,  did  not  comprehend  it. 
With  that  suave  Gallic  civility,  always  solicitous  of  the 
entente  cordiale,  he  exclaimed  aloud  in  Cherokee  his  admi 
ration  of  the  fabric.  It  was  one  of  those  carpets,  described 
as  "  two  fathoms  long,"  woven  of  the  wild  hemp,  and 
painted  with  indelible  dyes  and  designs  of  the  figures  of 
beasts  and  birds,  always  the  same  on  both  sides.  Laroche 
expressed  an  interest  in  the  plan  of  its  barbaric  decoration 
and  effort  at  delineation,  while  Push-koosh  stood  and  silently 
looked  on.  Here  Laroche  traced  out  a  lion  (the  panther 
or  American  cougar),  which  evidently  signified  strength, 
and  here  were  feathers,  many  and  various,  so  dexterously 
imitated  that  he  declared  they  seemed  real,  which  suggested 
softness,  and  love,  and  nesting,  —  the  symbolism  was  of 
the  guardianship  of  home,  —  truly  an  appropriate  mat  to 
lay  before  a  hearthstone !  Secure  in  his  interpretation,  he 
looked  straight  at  her  with  a  smile  in  his  handsome  brown 
eyes.  She  must  needs  speak  in  response  ;  yet  with  Push- 
koosh  loftily  looking  on  she  sought  by  her  phrase  to  include 
them  both  as,  gazing  up,  she  faltered  that  she  had  kept  it 
quite  smooth  despite  its  complicated  design,  —  it  was  quite 
smooth  to  walk  upon. 

It  was  too  pretty  to  walk  upon,  the  Frenchman  declared 
in  facile  compliment,  and  as  she  drew  out  the  roll  flat,  to 
exhibit  its  smoothness  of  texture,  he  dropped  on  one  knee 
and  tried  its  sleek,  evenly  wrought  fibres  with  his  hand. 
But  Push-koosh,  turning  away,  walked  across  it  with  a 
lordly  air  like  a  husband,  and  as  the  Frenchman  rose  from 
his  kneeling  posture  and  joined  him,  Akaluka  looked  after 
them  both,  with  the  fishbone  needle  motionless  in  her  hand, 
extended  to  the  limit  of  its  hempen  thread,  and  destined 
to  be  very  idle  that  day.  She  was  best  accustomed  to  the 
attitude  of  mind  of  the  Indian,  —  and  yet  the  Frenchman, 
how  quick  of  interpretation  he  was  !  —  how  well  he  under- 


A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER  33 

stood  all  things  !  Strange,  strange,  that  there  should  he 
such  difference  in  men !  She  would  not  have  been  afraid 
to  go  with  him  —  to  the  moon. 

They  conducted  themselves  at  the  horse-races  that  day 
like  other  "  mad  young  men  ;  "  they  shouted,  and  bet  more 
than  they  could  afford  to  lose,  and  argued  much,  and  talked 
very  loud,  and  were  tumultuously  and  heavily  self-impor 
tant.  But  that  afternoon,  seated  in  secret  conclave  on  buffalo 
rugs  on  the  floor  of  the  council-house,  with  half  a  dozen 
chiefs  of  the  towns  of  the  vicinage  summoned  to  join  Moy 
Toy  and  the  headmen  of  Tellico  at  the  conference,  they 
seemed  to  have  experienced  a  sudden  recurrence  to  sanity,  a 
lucid  interval,  and  each  deported  himself  much  like  a  man 
of  this  world. 

These  deliberations,  although  expected  to  result  in  a 
treaty,  were  not  conducted  as  a  formal  council,  since  the 
will  of  the  Cherokee  nation  could  only  be  expressed  in  a 
general  congress,  and  much  consideration  must  needs  pre 
cede  so  important  a  step  as  a  renunciation  of  the  British 
alliance  and  firmly  grasping  the  hand  of  the  great  French 
father.  The  pipe  was  solemnly  smoked,  and  although  none 
arose  as  usual  in  addressing  the  assembly,  their  habitual 
courtesy  to  one  another  in  council  was  observed,  each  speak 
ing  in  turn,  and  punctiliously  refraining  from  interruption. 
When  a  subject  was  mentioned  on  which  the  speaker  desired 
a  categorical  reply  from  any  one  present,  he  handed  that 
person  a  small  stick,  at  the  end  of  the  paragraph  as  it  were, 
to  keep  the  remark  in  mind,  and  then  went  on  to  the  other 
heads  of  his  discourse.  When  he  had  finished  all  he  had 
to  say,  specific  responses  to  the  details  of  his  speech  were 
made  in  turn  by  those  to  whom  he  had  handed  sticks. 

As  Moy  Toy  thoughtfully  canvassed  the  advantages  pro 
posed  by  the  French  alliance,  he  remarked  that  Atta-Kulla- 
Kulla  —  a  noted  chief  not  present  at  this  time  —  had  al 
ways  advocated  adherence  to  the  British  treaty,  since  the 


84  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

trade  which  it  provided  and  protected,  albeit  a  monopoly, 
afforded  the  Cherokees  a  means  to  keep  under  arms  and 
adequately  supplied  with  ammunition,  which  was  essential 
for  hunting,  and  also  in  view  of  war  ;  even  to  enforce 
against  the  British  with  the  arms  they  themselves  had  sup 
plied  the  observance  of  every  jot  and  tittle  of  the  compact 
with  the  Cherokees.  This  advantage  the  French  did  not 
furnish  to  the  Indian  tribes  under  their  control. 

He  paused  and  solemnly  handed  a  stick  to  Push-koosh, 
and  then  another  to  Laroche. 

It  was  the  fashion,  he  continued,  among  the  "  mad  young 
men  "  of  the  nation,  to  comment  upon  Atta^-Kulla-Kulla's 
desire  to  avoid  causes  of  war  with  the  British,  calling  him 
"  an  old  woman  ;  "  but  the  great  chief  was  a  wise  man,  for 
the  object  of  prime  importance  was  to  keep  the  warriors  of 
the  tribe  under  arms  in  the  European  fashion,  since  bows 
and  arrows  were  of  no  avail  against  powder  and  lead,  and 
on  the  supply  of  guns  and  ammunition  actually  depended 
the  continuance  of  the  national  existence  of  the  Cherokees. 

Push-koosh  held  his  stick,  attentively  listening  as  La 
roche  interpreted  these  words,  and  in  answering  said  that 
it  was  even  for  such  reason  the  French  father  furnished  the 
Choctaw  tribe  fully  with  arms  and  ammunition  only  in 
times  of  war  against  a  common  enemy  —  so  that,  on  other 
occasions,  their  own  "  mad  young  men,"  caviling  thus  at  the 
superior  wisdom  of  their  elders,  might  not  have  the  means 
of  embroiling  themselves  and  thrusting  nations  into  hostili 
ties  when  the  great  warriors  and  "  beloved  men  "  were  all 
for  peace.  But  for  chiefs  and  headmen  the  armories  of  the 
great  French  father  were  always  open. 

He  deftly  touched  the  handsome  pistols  at  his  belt  with 
a  casual  gesture,  and  hardly  seemed  to  listen  to  the  voice  of 
the  French  officer  repeating  his  words  in  Cherokee. 

The  Indian  councilors  experienced  a  tumult  of  excite 
ment,  which  their  faces,  however,  stolidly  repressed  when 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  35 

Laroche,  replying  without  regard  apparently  to  the  pre 
sence  of  the  Choctaw,  said,  as  he  held  his  stick  in  his  hand, 
that  it  was  by  no  means  the  intention  of  the  French  au 
thorities  to  ignore  the  different  status  of  the  Cherokees  from 
the  tribes  under  their  control.  The  Cherokees,  as  the  French 
government  well  understood,  were  in  effect  an  absolute 
integer  in  the  sum  of  nations,  a  free,  independent,  unified 
people,  and  they  would  be  armed  and  equipped  in  accord 
ance  with  that  fact.  Whereas  the  Choctaws,  and  Choco- 
maws,  and  others  were  nearly  akin  to  the  Chickasaws,  all 
sub-tribes  of  the  Chickemicas  of  old ;  and  although  the 
Chickasaws,  always  adhering  firmly  to  the  British  and  in 
imical  to  the  French,  had  often  warred  bitterly  against 
their  kindred  Choctaws,  still  in  view  of  ties  of  consanguin 
ity,  similar  customs,  and  above  all  a  common  language,  a 
friendly  compact  between  them  at  some  period,  while  not 
probable,  was  eminently  possible,  especially  when  promoted 
by  the  machinations  of  the  British.  Under  these  circum 
stances  the  French  father  felt  indisposed  to  keep  the 
Choctaws  fully  under  arms  while  their  brothers,  the  Chicka 
saws,  held  the  knife  at  his  throat.  Surely  the  great  and 
wise  chiefs  could  perceive  a  reason  for  a  difference  in  his 
attitude  toward  the  Cherokees. 

The  great  and  wise  chiefs  could  and  did !  They  were 
also  moved  by  a  recollection  that  the  most  notable  of  the 
Choctaws,  the  great  chief  Shulashummashtabe  (Bed  Shoes), 
long  entertained  designs  to  detach  his  whole  tribe  from  the 
interest  of  the  French,  being  instrumental  in  their  defeat  at 
the  battle  of  Ackia,  where  he  stood  aloof  with  his  own 
command  of  Choctaw  braves  while  the  French  troops  charged 
to  the  cry  of  "  Vive  le  roi  f  "  and  afterward  he  fled  in  a 
simulated  panic.  He  later  openly  deserted  to  the  English, 
and  a  reward  being  offered  for  his  head  by  the  dear  French 
father,  he  was  treacherously  slain  by  one  of  his  own  tribe, 
during  the  governorship  of  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil. 


36  A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

The  Cherokee  chiefs  in  council  felt  much  as  if  they  were 
treading  on  mined  ground,  as  they  listened  to  the  French 
officer's  voice  while  he  rendered  into  Choctaw  his  long 
speech  for  the  benefit  of  Push-koosh  ;  for  as  the  ambassador 
was  blandly  smiling,  they  must  needs  be  sure  that  the  in 
terpretation  tendered  him  was  to  an  entirely  different  effect. 

The  Indians  were  so  crafty  that  they  seemed  to  love  a 
device  for  its  own  shifty  sake.  They  secretly  admired  this 
keen  double-dealing  of  the  French  authorities,  without  re 
flecting  that  a  two-edged  blade  is  made  to  cut  both  ways. 
With  a  heightened  sense  of  the  sagacity  of  the  French 
officer,  they  all  bent  an  attentive  ear  to  his  account  of  the 
obstruction  to  navigation  in  the  Riviere  des  Cheraquis  and 
his  disappointment  to  find  that  it  was  not  to  be  overcome 
in  the  manner  expected  by  the  French  governor  Kerlerec, 
—  in  fact  it  was  there  for  all  time. 

Mingo  Push-koosh  had  been  himself  disappointed,  both  as 
a  soldier  and  a  statesman,  but  his  mien  had  an  element 
of  pride  as  he  said  that  the  variegated  merchandise  —  al- 
poo-e-ack  —  could  not  be  forwarded.  Perhaps  he  resented 
the  fact  that  he  had  been  forced  to  discuss  the  clipped-claw 
condition  of  the  unarmed  Choctaw  tribe,  whom  Kerlerec  had 
nevertheless  the  art  so  to  propitiate  that  he  was  called 
preeminently  the  "  Father  of  the  Choctaws."  Mingo  Push- 
koosh  was  evidently  secretly  triumphant  in  the  realization 
that  the  French  alliance  which  he  possessed  so  easily,  and 
the  Cherokees  coveted  so  strenuously,  was  not  to  be  had  by 
them ;  for  without  the  privileges  of  trade  and  a  base  of  sup 
ply,  the  Cherokees  must  adhere  to  the  repugnant  treaty  with 
the  British  to  be  able  to  keep  under  arms  at  all,  even  in 
war  with  other  tribes. 

Moy  Toy's  countenance  fell. 

"  To  e  u  ?  "  (Is  this  true  ?)  he  asked  sternly,  as  if  he 
suspected  dissimulation,  for  from  time  to  time  there  had 
been  traffic  more  or  less  by  way  of  the  Cherokee  Eiver. 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  37 

"  To  e  u  hah  !  "  (It  is  true  indeed !)  replied  the  French 
officer  definitely. 

The  chiefs  looked  from  one  to  another  silently,  their 
countenances  expressing  much  that  their  pride  would  fain 
have  hidden.  If  this  were  true,  a  species  of  vassalage  was 
the  best  hope  of  the  free  and  independent  Cherokee  people. 
Laroche  begged  to  be  permitted  to  explain  his  views  in 
reference  to  the  obstructions  to  navigation. 

Canoes,  he  went  on  to  say,  could  pass  of  course,  a  few 
light  craft  occasionally,  perhaps  even  large  pettiaugres  at 
long  intervals  in  some  especially  favorable  stage  of  the  water, 
but  for  the  free,  systematic  transportation  of  the  fleets  of  a 
great  and  continuous  trade,  the  passage  was  forever  imprac 
ticable.  In  the  distant  future  the  difficulties  of  navigation 
might  be  nullified  by  the  construction  of  a  parallel  artificial 
channel  (he  could  find  no  Cherokee  equivalent  for  the  word 
"  canal "),  the  method  of  which  he  alertly  explained  with 
that  relish  of  technical  details  characteristic  of  the  very 
young  in  science,  —  all  as  carefully  heeded  by  the  Indian 
statesmen  as  if  entirely  comprehensible.  But  at  present  he 
desired  to  lay  before  the  wise  chiefs  a  plan  of  his  own, 
which,  should  it  meet  their  approval,  he  would  elaborate  and 
submit  to  the  governor  at  New  Orleans. 

There  was  an  interval  of  silence  as  he  arranged  his 
thoughts.  The  anxious,  deliberative  faces  of  the  chiefs  all 
turned  toward  him,  their  eyes  keenly  studying  his  expres 
sion  of  countenance,  seemed  oddly  incongruous  with  the 
puerile  decoration  of  beads  and  great  earrings,  and  feathers 
poised  upright  on  each  polled  head.  The  vague  light  of 
the  smouldering  council-fire  flickered  upon  them ;  the  som 
bre  interior  of  the  windowless  building  was  but  dimly 
glimpsed  in  the  deep  red  glow  ;  the  glare  from  the  brilliant 
day  outside  filled  the  narrow  portal  as  with  some  transpar 
ency,  some  illuminated  segment  of  a  painted  landscape  un 
naturally  bright,  —  an  emerald  mountain  aglow,  a  silver 


38  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

shimmering  river,  a  bit  of  sapphire  sky,  intense.  Voices, 
faint  in  the  distance,  of  jovial  intimations,  came  from  where 
the  young  people  were  dancing  in  three  circles  after  the  races 
and  the  feastings.  The  sound  was  far  alien  to  this  atmos 
phere  of  thought  and  anxious  care,  this  dim  council-house, 
where  were  concocted  the  measures  of  statecraft  that  kept 
the  people  free  and  happy.  Even  Push-koosh,  whom  the 
envious  shadows  could  not  bereave  of  the  brilliant  effect  of 
his  white  raiment,  asserted  albeit  in  the  dimness,  his  glossy 
pearls,  the  glitter  of  his  silver  ornaments,  did  not  heed  the 
joyous  clamor.  As  to  Laroche,  he  did  not  hear  it  at  all. 

It  was  not  to  be  contemplated,  he  said,  that  this  perverse 
obstruction  to  navigation  should  withhold  the  Cherokee  na 
tion  from  firmly  grasping  the  hand  of  the  French  father  who 
loved  them ;  but  since  it  was  absolutely  impracticable  to  send 
valuable  cargoes  of  arms  and  ammunition,  as  well  as  cloths, 
cutlery,  tools,  and  paints,  all  those  necessities  of  the  Indian 
trade,  so  expensive  and  difficult  to  be  obtained,  through  those 
twenty  miles  of  roaring  rapids,  to  say  nothing  of  the  whirl 
pools  further  up  the  current,  the  merchandise  might  be 
thence  transferred,  under  strong  guard,  by  land  with  pack- 
horses  to  the  comparatively  near  point  of  the  reopening  of 
easy  navigation,  were  there  a  barrier  town  settled  at  each 
extremity  of  the  overland  route  to  receive  and  distribute 
the  goods  by  the  various  waterways  throughout  the  Cherokee 
nation. 

"  Seohsta-quo  f  "  (Good !)  cried  Moy  Toy  of  Tellico. 

The  others  in  great  excitement  but  in  definite  order,  ob 
serving  their  usual  courtesy  in  deliberation,  with  much  rapid 
bestowal  of  sticks,  bespeaking  categorical  answers  on  the 
various  details,  began  the  discussion  of  this  bold  project,  — 
the  extension  of  their  settlements  for  more  than  a  hundred 
miles  rather  than  fail  to  secure  the  advantage  of  the  French 
alliance.  The  details  of  the  diplomatic  scheme  illustrated 
the  Frenchman's  fertility  in  device,  and  Push-koosh  was  not 


A  SPECTRE  OP  POWER  39 

slow  to  perceive  that  Laroche  presently  had  both  hands  full 
of  sticks,  while  he  himself  held  but  two,  evidently  tendered 
only  as  an  afterthought  and  pro  forma.  The  Indian  states 
men  wished  to  hear  the  French  officer  speak.  The  coher 
ence  and  cogency  of  his  plan  commended  it.  Indeed,  after 
ward  they  contemplated  the  removal  of  the  town  of  Tellico 
Great  itself,  one  of  the  "  seven  Mother  Towns "  of  the 
Cherokee  nation,  far  enough  down  the  Cherokee  Biver  to 
be  within  easy  access  of  the  large  French  pettiaugres.  Even 
as  it  was,  the  nation  subsequently  extended  its  frontier  on 
this  basis,  and  a  series  of  new  towns  was  settled  below  the 
"  mountain  obstructions,"  the  "  whirl,"  the  "  boiling  pot," 
and  still  beyond,  near  the  upper  end  of  the  Muscle  Shoals, 
serving  as  the  "  barrier  towns  "  of  the  tribe.  The  Chero- 
kees  craftily  explained  to  the  English  the  necessity  for  this 
move  by  the  statement  that  the  site  of  some  of  their  upper 
towns  had  become  infested  with  witches  !  —  it  may  safely 
be  presumed  that  they  were  British  witches  I 

The  questions  relative  to  the  proposed  new  location,  — • 
the  number  of  warriors  requisite  for  the  barrier  towns ;  the 
possibility  that,  if  supported  by  a  sufficient  force  of  braves 
in  the  neighborhood,  the  French  government  would  settle 
a  garrison  at  the  Muscle  Shoals ;  the  number  of  horses  and 
men  necessary  for  the  pack-trains  and  the  guard  for  the  over 
land  transportation ;  the  most  desirable  point  for  the  resump 
tion  of  the  water  carriage  of  the  merchandise  up  the  Cherokee 
Kiver,  and  thence  by  way  of  the  Eupharsee  (Hiwassee), 
the  Tennessee,  the  Agique  (French  Broad),  throughout  the 
Cherokee  country ;  the  measures  to  be  taken  for  the  pro 
tection  of  French  traders  and  their  mercantile  assistants 
against  the  British,  —  all  these  points  Laroche  intelligently 
discussed,  continually  receiving  and  returning  sticks,  while 
the  transparent  landscape  in  the  doorway  shimmered  to  a 
change  :  the  blue  sky  grew  red,  the  green  mountain  turned 
purple,  the  silver  river  dulled  to  steel,  and  a  star  began  to 
flicker  in  the  west, 


40  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

Moy  Toy  would  have  talked  on  through  the  descending 
darkness,  regardless  of  the  night  and  the  dying  of  the  last 
ember  of  the  council-fire,  save  for  the  admonition  of  one 
of  the  minor  chiefs,  on  whom  the  duty  of  caring  for  the 
creature  comforts  of  the  guests  had  devolved,  and  who  con 
trived  to  intimate  presently  that  it  was  long  since  the 
strangers  had  eaten  and  drunk.  On  this  account  the  coun 
cil  was  adjourned,  Moy  Toy  still  wearing  a  thoughtful 
aspect  and  meditatively  saying,  l<  We  will  talk  of  this 
again  to-morrow."  And  as  they  left  him  in  the  gloom  of 
the  state-house,  and  began  the  descent  of  the  steps  of  earth 
that  led  down  from  the  high  mound,  they  heard  him  still 
mechanically  repeating  in  the  solitary  darkness,  "  We  will 
talk  of  this  again  to-morrow." 

Now  Push-koosh,  like  some  other  infants,  even  when 
not  Choctaw  chiefs  nor  warriors,  was  of  a  proud,  impla 
cable,  and  pompous  self-opinion.  It  required  little  to  wound 
his  vanity  and  nettle  his  temper,  but  indeed  he  had  ample 
cause  for  affront  in  that  this  officer  had  talked  unceasingly 
in  his  presence  to  the  Cherokee  chiefs  without  pausing  to 
translate  what  was  said,  although  in  their  excitement  no 
one  had  noticed  the  fact.  At  first  Push-koosh  had  essayed 
to  speak  in  Cherokee,  but  his  knowledge  of  the  tongue 
would  not  sustain  the  subtleties  of  his  meaning.  He  had 
even  humbled  himself  once  to  seek  recourse  in  the  sign 
language,  comprehensive  enough  for  all  needs,  but  every 
eye  was  fixed  upon  Laroche,  every  ear  intent.  He  felt  his 
pride  touched  that  this  absorbing  interest,  which  the  chiefs 
had  manifested  in  diplomatic  matters,  sprang  from  naught 
that  he  had  disclosed  in  his  ambassadorial  capacity,  —  in 
fact  he  did  not  even  know  the  subject  of  their  excitement 
or  its  importance.  He  thought  it  derogatory  to  his  position 
to  inquire  of  Laroche,  or  to  seem  to  realize  that  he  had 
been  overlooked  —  he,  the  head  of  the  embassy  !  But  the 
incident  roused  him  to  the  assertion  of  his  own  importance. 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  41 

He  saw,  with  pleasure  in  the  contrast,  that  Laroche  was 
exhausted  by  the  mental  stress  of  the  discussion,  while  he 
had  been  refreshed  by  the  long  hours  of  rest  in  the  quiet 
seclusion  of  the  state-house.  When  they  were  seated  in 
one  of  the  piazza-like  cabins  at  one  side  of  the  "  beloved 
square,"  where  the  banquet  had  been  spread  after  the  races, 
Laroche  was  still  absorbed  and  silent,  ate  little,  and  drank 
only  of  the  decoction  from  the  "  flint  corn  "  made  by  boil 
ing  the  grain  and  straining  the  result,  the  beverage  when 
cooled  said  to  have  been  refreshing  and  nutritive  and  "  much 
liked  even  by  genteel  strangers."  A  fire  was  alight  in  the 
centre  of  the  "  beloved  square,"  but  the  other  public  build 
ings  were  all  vacant,  and  their  open  piazza-like  fronts  showed 
dark  and  deserted  in  the  deepening  dusk.  The  festivities 
were  over  for  the  nonce  ;  the  Indian  guests  from  the  neigh 
boring  villages  had  departed ;  the  strangers'  share  of  the 
evening  banquet,  with  which  the  merrymaking  in  their 
honor  had  ended,  having  been  reserved  for  them  till  the 
close  of  the  protracted  session  of  the  council.  The  town 
seemed  drowsy,  already  half  asleep ;  only  a  few  occasional 
passers  set  the  echo  of  a  footfall  astir ;  an  owl  was  hooting 
in  the  woods ;  a  vague  sense  of  dreariness  had  descended 
with  the  twilight,  and  suddenly  Laroche  became  cognizant, 
with  a  start  as  if  he  had  seen  a  ghost,  that  there  was  a  pre 
sence  at  the  meal  of  which  he  had  been  hitherto  unaware, 
—  Akaluka  herself,  meekly  seated  by  the  Choctaw  chief 
while  he  silently  ate  and  drank. 

There  was  a  bold,  open  triumph  in  the  face  of  Push- 
koosh,  as  he  noted  the  manifestation  of  surprise.  He 
looked  at  the  French  officer  as  arrogantly  as  if  he  had  al 
ready  that  luxuriant  Gallic  scalp  hanging  to  his  favorite 
pipe.  Perhaps  he  himself  had  never  seemed  so  assertive, 
so  lordly,  as  in  the  blended  light  of  the  bland  moonrise 
and  a  flickering  pine  torch  with  which  the  table  was  lighted 
by  the  old  woman  who  served  it,  —  his  strings  of  pearls,  his 


42  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

glittering  pistols,  his  white  and  scarlet  garb,  the  red  flamingo 
feathers  in  his  hair,  the  broad  silver  band  across  his  forehead, 
his  perfect  physical  condition ;  while  Laroche,  pale  from 
mental  exertion,  the  mathematical  calculation,  the  evolution 
of  plans  of  public  polity,  the  arrangement  of  intricate  and  an 
tagonistic  details  in  the  problems  of  the  Indian  trade,  wiped 
his  forehead,  felt  his  eyes  ache,  and  was  too  tired  to  eat. 

These  plans  were  the  more  precious  since  they  were  sud 
denly  beset  with  a  new  danger;  he  realized  the  menace, 
although  he  did  not  appreciate  that  he  himself  was  an  ele 
ment  in  it ;  he  did  not  know  how  admiringly  the  girl  had 
gazed  at  him  the  previous  evening  at  the  pantomime,  while 
Push-koosh,  who  could  have  killed  him  for  it,  gazed  at  her. 
Even  Push-koosh  had  noted  his  unconsciousness  of  this 
fact,  —  but  Laroche  had  not  been  equally  oblivious  of  her 
attractions.  "  JEho  ckookoma  !  "  quotha.  She  might  now 
gaze  at  her  peril,  —  and  so  might  he  I  Laroche  had  not 
noticed  this  evening  the  Choctaw  as  he  beckoned  the  girl 
to  sit  beside  him  as  he  ate,  but  he  knew  enough  of  Indian 
etiquette  to  be  aware  that  this  is  the  method  by  which  the 
suitor  formally  recognizes  and  emphasizes  the  fact  that  his 
addresses  are  accepted. 

Laroche  had  learned  that  this  woman  was  the  sister  of 
Moy  Toy,  and  while  a  Choctaw  match  for  her  might  be  ap 
proved  by  him  as  a  means  of  strengthening  the  alliance 
between  the  tribes,  still  there  was  of  necessity  great  doubt 
as  to  the  completion  of  this  national  compact,  the  Choctaws 
and  Cherokees  having  many  ancient  enmities  to  reconcile, 
and  the  offer  of  intermarriage  must  needs  be  approached 
with  precaution.  And  above  all  things  at  some  future  day  I 
To  hamper  at  this  crisis  so  important  and  promising  a  nego 
tiation  between  the  French  government  and  the  Cherokee 
nation,  so  difficult  of  arrangement,  with  a  nettling  trifle  like 
this,  —  a  personal  matter  of  so  alien  and  doubtful  a  charac 
ter,  —  Laroche  trembled  with  impatience  at  the  very  thought. 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  43 

He  was  once  more  all  alert.  When  Push-koosh  rose  at 
last  from  the  meal  and  flung  casually  away,  taking  his  path 
along  the  river  bank  where  a  cool  breeze  was  stirring,  the 
lieutenant  followed.  For  although  the  woman  must  sit 
beside  her  suitor  when  he  eats  if  he  beckons  to  her,  still 
the  match  is  not  yet  irretrievably  made.  He  must  needs 
give  her  the  foot  of  a  deer  as  an  admonition  how  brisk  she 
must  be  on  his  errands,  whereupon  she  must  bake  and 
offer  him  a  cake  of  rockahominy  meal,  as  token  of  willing 
subservience.  He  must  also  break  an  ear  of  corn  in  half, 
and  in  the  presence  of  witnesses  give  her  one  portion,  re 
taining  the  other  himself,  which  completes  the  symbolic 
Indian  marriage  ceremonies. 

"  Push-koosh,"  said  Laroche  gravely,  as  he  approached, 
—  the  Indian  slackened  his  pace,  welcoming  from  his  posi 
tion  of  vantage  as  an  accepted  suitor  the  prospect  of  a  quar 
rel  with  a  jealous  lover,  —  "the  commandant  did  not  send 
us  here  to  make  love  to  women ! " 

Push-koosh  turned  to  glance  aside  at  him.  "  Take  care 
that  you  don't  do  it,  then,"  he  admonished  the  officer. 

"  Our  mission  is  a  matter  far  too  important  to  jeopardize 
with  such  considerations,"  declared  Laroche.  He  slipped 
his  arm  through  the  Choctaw's  in  a  friendly  way  and  de 
tailed  at  length  his  scheme,  his  clever  scheme,  apologizing 
that  he  had  not  interpreted  it  at  the  council.  "  But  it  was 
not  a  part  of  our  instructions,  —  only  a  plan  of  my  own." 

"You  did  not  want  my  suggestions,  —  I  do  not  want 
yours,"  retorted  Push-koosh,  deeply  angered  to  perceive  the 
importance  of  the  discussion,  through  which  he  had  sat 
silent,  carried  on  over  his  head. 

"  But  you  can  see  surely  that  there  must  be  no  talk  of  wo 
men  and  marriage  till  all  this  is  settled,  —  wait  till  you  come 
again,"  urged  Laroche,  holding  his  temper  well  in  hand. 

"  Eho  chookoma  !  "  quoted  Push-koosh  significantly. 
"  Meantime  there  might  be  another  man !  " 


44  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

That  fatal  "  other  man "  —  was  ever  a  lover's  dream 
which  he  did  not  haunt  ? 

"  But,  Be  be,  Push-koosh,"  argued  the  Frenchman  suavely, 
"  what  would  you  do  hampered  with  a  Cherokee  wife  if, 
after  all,  this  tribe  continues  to  adhere  to  the  British,  and 
should  take  part  in  their  war  with  the  French  and  their 
Choctaw  allies  ?  " 

Push-koosh,  animated  with  the  jealous  conviction,  yet 
full  of  triumph  in  the  fact,  that  the  French  officer  was 
himself  in  love  with  this  charming  swan  and  therefore 
sought  to  interpose  obstacles,  retorted  as  if  to  strike  him 
to  the  heart,  <*  Do  ?  —  comply  with  the  tribal  custom ! 
Kill  her !  In  the  last  war  with  the  Muscogee,  did  not 
the  Choctaw  braves  who  had  married  Muscogee  wives  kill 
the  women  and  their  children,  they  being  also  Muscogee, 
for  the  children  inherit  the  nationality  of  the  mother  ?  I 
should,  of  course,  kill  her  !  " 

He  had  turned  to  face  the  officer,  who  stood  for  one  mo 
ment  speechless,  realizing  the  strange  world  in  which  he 
was  living,  the  curious  medley  of  devil  and  man,  of  sav 
agery  and  civilization. 

The  moon  was  well  up  over  the  river,  and  where  the 
light  struck  with  full  effulgence  the  water  was  all  a  shin 
ing  violet  hue  ;  the  banks  were  of  an  invisible  green,  too 
dark  for  color,  but  somehow  still  sensibly  verdant.  All 
along  the  shore  the  frogs  were  piping,  hardly  noticed ;  for 
in  the  budding  rhododendron  close  at  hand  a  mocking-bird 
sang  with  wonderful  elan  and  elasticity,  the  multitude  of 
exquisitely  sweet  notes  springing  one  from  another  with  a 
definite  effect  of  rebound. 

"  Push-koosh,"  the  lieutenant  said  at  length,  "  mon  Bebe 
bien-aime,  you  always  betray  your  tender  infant  heart !  " 

He  seemed  to  laugh,  but  his  hand  trembled  on  the  hilt 
of  his  sword,  as  he  stood  as  if  irresolute  and  gazed  at  Push- 
koosh  with  a  threat  in  his  intent  eyes  hardly  less  fierce 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  45 

than  the  look  with  which  only  last  night  Push-koosh  had 
menacingly,  nay  murderously  gazed  at  him  while  he  slept. 
Suddenly  the  officer  turned  aside,  and  alone  took  his  way 
back  to  the  Indian  town. 

Yet  Laroche  did  not  love  the  woman.  Perhaps  he  was 
merely  civilized  by  virtue  of  his  nationality  and  his  religion  ; 
for  although  as  a  soldier  he  would  have  coolly  taken  the 
life  of  a  man  and  an  enemy,  he  felt  all  a  coward  in  the 
secret  danger  that  menaced  the  Cherokee  girl,  unaware, 
doubtless,  of  her  peril.  He  himself  was  not  unaware  of  it, 
and  therein  he  perceived  an  irksome  responsibility.  The 
Cherokees  were  so  far  in  advance  of  the  other  Indian  tribes 
in  point  of  character,  sentiment,  civilization,  that  Laroche 
doubted  if  this  mode  of  ridding  one's  self  of  a  wife,  who, 
through  no  fault  of  her  own,  but  for  political  reasons,  had 
incurred  disfavor,  would  suggest  itself  to  them  more  readily 
than  it  had  to  him.  With  their  evident  intention  to  accept 
the  proffer  of  the  French  alliance,  it  was  more  than  likely 
that  the  Cherokee  authorities,  with  their  characteristic  lack 
of  foresight,  would  treat  the  match  with  the  Choctaw  chief 
as  if  the  compact  with  the  French  were  already  made  fast. 
Yet  should  it  fail,  —  and  from  Laroche's  post  on  the  seamy 
side  he  saw  many  a  rent  in  the  web  of  the  probabilities,  — 
Push-koosh  had  said  it,  —  he  had  decreed  her  fate. 

Laroche  had  so  longed  for  the  success  of  his  scheme  ! 
It  was  so  great,  so  clever,  so  promissory  of  personal  and 
professional  advancement !  He  felt  that  he  would  hardly 
hazard  an  item  of  its  development  for  his  own  life,  —  much 
less  then  for  the  life  of  a  creature  like  this  —  hardly  more 
human  than  a  deer  !  Besides,  why  should  he  interfere  ?  — 
all  might  yet  go  well  with  the  alliance.  When  he  began 
to  argue  thus,  he  suddenly  stopped  short.  Would  he  weigh 
a  human  life  in  the  balance  of  his  personal  interest  —  be 
come,  albeit  indirectly,  accessory  to  a  murder  of  the  inno 
cent  ?  He  grew  a  trifle  pale  at  the  thought  and  devoutly 


46  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

crossed  himself.  He  would  assume  no  such  responsibility. 
He  would  keep  no  such  secret.  And  then  he  began  to  see 
the  matter  in  the  light  of  an  official  duty.  He  represented 
the  French  interest,  and  should  the  Cherokees  ever  learn 
that  he  had  been  cognizant  of  this  threat  and  had  with 
held  it  from  them,  it  would  alienate  them,  as  naught  else 
could,  from  the  power  that  so  earnestly  sought  their  con 
ciliation.  In  every  point  of  view  he  determined  that  he 
would  not  hesitate.  He  would  lay  the  matter  before  Moy 
Toy,  as  in  civilization  he  would  instantly  report  a  threatened 
murder  to  the  police. 

Now  Moy  Toy  was  a  man  of  family  affection.  Years 
earlier,  in  1730,  he  had  given  indications  of  this  fact  when 
a  Cherokee  delegation,  favored  by  royal  invitation,  were  on 
the  point  of  setting  forth  to  visit  King  George  II.  in  Lon 
don  ;  Moy  Toy,  although  he  was  to  be  the  chief  delegate, 
at  the  last  moment  relinquished  the  distinguished  oppor 
tunity  because  his  wife  had  fallen  dangerously  ill  and  he 
could  not  leave  her.  Therefore  he  remained  at  the  little 
Indian  village,  while  several  other  chiefs  made  the  wonder 
ful  journey  to  England,  and  had  audience  of  the  sovereign 
at  his  palace,  and  were  the  recipients  of  innumerable  pre 
sents  and  attentions,  being  the  lions  of  the  day. 

He  now  took  instant  alarm  at  this  menace  to  his  sister, 
and  to  Laroche's  surprise  presently  summoned  to  his  aid 
and  counsel  the  other  chiefs  of  Tellico  Great.  The  In 
dian  scheme  of  succession  follows  the  collateral  female  line, 
and  therefore  Moy  Toy's  possible  future  nephew  would  in 
herit  his  office  as  chief  of  Tellico  Great,  to  the  exclusion 
of  his  own  son.  Hence  his  sister  was  a  personage  of  as 
much  consequence  in  Tellico  Great  as  a  mere  woman  could 
be,  and  the  council  agreed  that  in  view  of  this  circumstance 
they  would  not  trust  the  Franco-Choctaw-Cherokee  alliance 
until  it  was  an  accomplished  fact.  Yet  even  now  it  was  in 
jeopardy,  for  Mingo  Push-koosh,  the  French  ambassador, 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  47 

bearing  also  the  assurances  of  the  Choctaw  nation,  angered 
with  so  good  a  reason  might  work  mischief.  And  then 
began  the  accusation  of  the  woman ! 

Why  had  she  kept  his  present,  and  involved  them  in 
all  this  difficulty?  the  sage  councilors  assembled  in  the 
state-house  demanded  of  her  when  summoned  before  them. 
For  this  very  reason,  she  declared,  had  she  kept  his  present, 
although  not  loving  it,  for  the  young  men  had  said  that  she 
must  not  on  any  account  anger  the  Choctaw  ambassador  of 
the  great  French  father.  Then  poor  Moy  Toy,  roused  from 
cogitation  on  such  deep  and  intricate  problems  as  had  oc 
cupied  the  day,  to  fill  the  dark  hours  of  the  night  with 
vacillations  and  agitations  touching  the  political  effects  of 
so  ill-starred  a  flirtation,  asked  her  bitterly  had  she  no  more 
sense  than  to  listen  to  the  "  mad  young  men !  "  Where 
upon  she  protested  with  tears  that  the  "  mad  young  men  " 
had  but  spoken  the  words  that  even  now  were  on  his  own 
sage  lips,  —  the  ambassador  must  not  be  angered  ! 

With  daylight  came  new  resolutions.  Moy  Toy,  arguing 
that  the  ambassador  was  not  empowered  to  treat  for  a  Chero 
kee  wife,  and  to  exact  compliance  with  his  demand  as  a 
condition  of  his  mission,  concluded  that  he  sustained  no  of 
ficial  affront  in  the  ceremonious  return  of  the  scarf  with  an 
intimation  that  so  great  and  flattering  an  intermarriage  could 
only  be  made  after  the  compact  with  the  two  tribes. 

Now  it  is  possible  that  Push-koosh  might  have  acquiesced 
with  appropriate  docility  in  this  obviously  just  reasoning 
of  his  elders,  requiring,  however,  promises  of  Moy  Toy  on 
his  sister's  behalf,  conditioned  on  the  completion  of  the 
tribal  compact,  had  it  not  been  for  his  jealousy  of  the  French 
lieutenant.  Akaluka,  again  summoned,  was  also  at  the 
state-house,  wild-eyed,  tremulous,  visibly  terrified,  eager  to 
return  the  present,  which,  having  been  made  acquainted 
with  her  possible  fate,  she  was  far  indeed  from  loving. 

As  the  Choctaw  ambassador  received  the  scarf  which  she 


48  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

tendered  him,  the  cogent  reasons  for  delay  that  had  been 
urged,  the  political  interests  involved,  so  prominent  in  the 
apologies  of  the  Cherokee  chiefs, — all  were  merged  in  a 
sense  of  sustaining  the  curious  disgrace  of  a  personal  and 
public  rejection  in  the  presence  of  a  rival,  —  for  Mingo 
Push-koosh  caught  the  eyes  of  the  French  lieutenant  fixed 
hopefully  upon  him. 

Why  then,  the  Choctaw  asked  quite  calmly,  had  she  re 
ceived  the  present  if  she  did  not  love  it  ?  Why  had  she 
sat  beside  him  as  he  ate  ?  For  himself,  —  neither  did  he 
love  the  present ! 

He  held  up  the  gauzy  red  scarf  and  with  sundry  swift 
passes  of  a  scalp  knife  severed  the  fabric  into  dozens  of  shreds, 
sent  lightly  flying  about  the  state-house  like  a  flock  of  red- 
birds.  Then  whirling  on  his  heel,  he  quitted  the  council- 
chamber  and  followed  by  all  his  tribesmen  ran  across  the 
"  beloved  square  "  to  the  river  bank,  where  the  pettiaugre 
lay  defenseless  at  his  mercy.  All  the  kegs  of  the  precious 
powder  were  emptied  into  the  stream  before  his  design  was 
dreamed  of,  and  still  he  deemed  he  had  sufficient  margin  for 
a  running  start  from  the  pursuit  he  expected,  for  he  paused 
in  the  woods  to  hang  up  the  "war-brand."  This  being, 
however,  in  a  secluded  place,  it  was  not  early  discovered, 
and  the  first  intimation  that  the  Cherokees  received  of  the 
depth  of  his  resentment  was  the  massacre  almost  to  a  man 
of  a  peaceful  party  of  their  tribesmen,  offering  no  resistance, 
taken  wholly  by  surprise,  owing  to  the  pacific  character  of 
the  Franco-Choctaw  mission  to  Great  Tellico.  This  exploit 
achieved,  Mingo  Push-koosh  and  his  escort,  adorned  with 
scalps  and  singing  war-songs,  made  good  their  escape,  with 
the  wonderful  Choctaw  speed  in  marching,  leaving  the  de 
serted  Laroche  alone  and  at  the  mercy  of  the  frantic  and 
infuriated  Cherokees. 


Ill 

LAROCHE,  abandoned  thus  among  the  Cherokees,  was  in 
the  extremity  of  peril.  Apart  from  their  spirit  of  tribal 
cohesion,  the  strongest  of  national  sentiments,  all  those  more 
intimate  ties  of  family  affection,  of  municipal  unity,  and  of 
neighborly  custom,  in  which  they  were  peculiarly  bound, 
were  insistently  asserted  in  the  calamity,  as  the  massacred 
braves  were  all  of  Tellico  Great.  When  the  gory  figures 
of  the  unarmed,  unpainted  youths,  still  limp  and  warm,  not 
yet  stiffened  into  the  starkness  of  death,  were  borne  into  the 
precincts  of  the  town,  the  wailing  of  the  women  and  chil 
dren,  and  the  hoarse  cries  of  fury  and  despair  and  grief  of 
the  men,  filled  all  the  bland,  sunlit  spaces  of  the  morning, 
and  were  a  heavy  burden  to  the  air. 

It  was  with  no  definite  sense  of  the  wisest  course  that 
Laroche  had  not  moved  from  the  portal  of  the  great  state- 
house  whence  he  had  beheld  Mingo  Push-koosh,  followed 
by  all  his  braves,  rush  across  the  "  beloved  square  "  to  the  pet- 
tiaugre  and  accomplish  the  destruction  of  the  powder.  He 
was  stunned,  bewildered,  as  by  the  fall  of  a  thunderbolt. 
Only  afterward  he  realized  that  he  had  no  choice.  The 
craft  still  lay  at  her  moorings,  but  his  single  strength  could 
not  have  sufficed  to  float  her,  even  if  in  the  confusion  he 
had  escaped.  He  had  a  shrewd  surmise  of  the  secret  source 
of  the  wrath  of  the  Mingo,  and  he  doubted  if  the  jealousy 
of  the  Choctaw,  once  unleashed  and  dipped  in  blood,  were 
less  formidable  than  the  wild  frenzy  of  the  Cherokees. 
Moreover,  at  their  freest  pace,  speeding  for  their  lives,  he 
knew  that  he  could  never  have  sustained  the  gait  of  the 


50  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

marching  Choctaws,  and  must  eventually  have  fallen  by  the 
wayside  or  lagged  to  certain  capture. 

He  began  to  appreciate,  as  he  stood,  an  aspect  in  the  ac 
cident  of  his  posture  which  his  craft  recognized  as  savoring 
of  more  wisdom  than  he  could  have  attained  by  his  own 
mental  processes.  His  isolation  implied  that  he  was  no 
accessory  to  the  crimes  in  which  the  mission  had  terminated. 
The  desertion  of  him  by  the  Choctaws  augured  scant  value 
of  his  functions  in  the  embassy,  and  still  less  friendship  for 
him  personally,  —  his  safety,  indeed,  they  disregarded.  He 
began  to  hope  preposterously,  as  his  heart  swung  into  more 
normal  palpitations,  that  his  nationality,  his  secret  mission 
within  the  'Franco-Choctaw  mission,  his  obvious  freedom 
from  any  conspiracy  with  the  Indian  ambassador  who  had 
so  conspicuously  abused  his  trust,  might  serve  to  protect 
him. 

Then  he  perceived  suddenly  that  he  was  arguing  from 
the  probabilities  on  a  civilized  system  of  ratiocination.  For 
himself,  he  did  not  love  the  spectacle  of  suffering  nor  the 
smell  of  blood,  albeit  so  skilled  in  the  designing  of  lines  of 
tenailles  and  en  cremaillere,  in  which  men  were  to  lay  down 
their  lives  in  much  agony.  His  own  development  of  barbar 
ity  was  on  a  different  basis  and  had  a  vocabulary  quite  dis 
tinct  and  scientific,  his  jargon  of  trou-de-loup  and  cheval- 
de-frise  and  chausse-trappe  ;  and  he  watched  with  a  very 
definite  sentiment  of  reprehension  and  mental  disapproval, 
as  well  as  a  deep  and  numb  despair,  the  approach  of  a  half 
dozen  fierce,  lowering-eyed  braves,  full-armed,  who  stood  for 
a  moment  looking  up  at  him  and  then  seated  themselves, 
obviously  to  remain,  at  the  base  of  the  mound,  assuming 
the  functions  of  a  permanent  guard. 

In  fact,  Laroche  had  been  unobserved  at  first  in  the 
clamors  and  confusion  of  the  disaster,  the  departure  of  the 
horsemen  on  the  heels  of  the  flying  Choctaw  pedestrians, 
the  ghastly  return  of  the  young  Indians  of  the  massacre,  who 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  51 

had  gone  forth  with  all  the  imponderable  lightness  of  life  and 
joy  in  the  morning  and  now  were  brought  back  in  weight  with 
death  and  woe.  The  first  vague  suggestion  of  the  allevia 
tion  of  the  public  calamity  came  with  the  stern  thought  of 
vengeance  and  its  opportunity.  In  that  moment  the  eye  of 
one  of  the  headmen  chanced  to  be  lifted  to  Laroche.  The 
guard  was  dispatched  in  an  instant,  and  whatever  might  have 
been  the  issue  of  an  effort  to  escape,  the  possibility  was  now 
gone  forever.  He  began  to  perceive  that  they  would  take 
no  thought  of  an  absence  of  conspiracy.  He  was  one  of  the 
embassy  —  its  accredited  interpreter  ;  he  was  also  a  French 
man,  and  the  Cherokees  were  still  in  open  alliance  with  the 
British.  Moreover,  he  was  in  their  power,  and  blood  for 
blood  was  ever  the  Cherokee  rule. 

For  a  time  he  made  no  effort  to  appeal  to  his  guards, 
even  by  a  glance  or  a  gesture.  Hour  after  hour  passed 
away.  He  heard  the  vague  sounds,  in  the  distance,  of  the 
chanting  of  the  funeral  songs ;  he  perceived,  undistin 
guished,  colorless,  meaningless,  like  shadows  through  a 
dark  glass,  the  passing  of  the  funeral  processions  here  and 
there  around  the  houses  of  the  dead.  Again  and  again 
there  smote  on  the  air  wild  outbursts  of  the  protesting  woe 
of  the  mourning,  the  note  of  incredulity,  the  appeal  against 
injustice,  and  that  pathetic  plaint  of  a  heart  all  bruised  and 
tender  —  and  yet  in  a  sense  he  heard  naught.  He  was 
conscious  of  a  degree  of  quietude  when  the  actual  details 
of  the  interment  were  in  progress  within  the  houses,  for 
with  the  Cherokees  the  dead  were  always  buried  deep,  deep 
under  the  floor  of  their  own  homes,  and  a  sense  of  extreme 
fatigue  ached  in  his  muscles.  He  realized  how  long  he  had 
maintained  a  standing  posture  there  without  a  motion  —  a 
sentinel  who  habitually  mounted  guard  his  eight  hours  out 
of  the  twenty-four  would  hardly  have  been  capable  of  such 
resolution.  As  his  eye  met  that  of  one  of  the  guards,  he 
saw  in  the  inexpressive  face  of  the  Indian  a  sort  of  appre- 


52  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

elation  of  his  strength  of  will  that  coerced  the  endurance 
of  the  flesh,  and  at  last  he  spoke :  — 

"  Moy  Toy  cannot  think  me  to  blame  —  why  does  he 
guard  me  here  ?  " 

They  all  gazed  at  him  with  a  sort  of  concentrated  fury. 
The  racial  hatred  against  the  white  man  —  ineradicable,  un 
appeasable,  now  and  again  only  pretermitted  for  a  time  in 
favor  of  some  special  individual  —  showed  in  their  strongly 
marked,  savage  features,  with  the  primitive  passions  of  the 
rule  of  force  and  the  thirst  for  revenge  painted  upon  them 
in  a  breadth  of  expression  that  pigments  could  not  emulate. 

"  Blood  for  blood,"  one  of  them  said,  ana  spat  upon  the 
ground. 

"  If  I  were  one  of  the  Choctaws  —  yes !  But  I  am 
French.  I  have  done  naught.  They  have  deserted  me. 
I  am  entrapped  here.  It  would  please  them  that  you 
should  shed  my  blood." 

There  was  a  momentary  silence  under  this  logic.  Then 
another  of  the  Indians,  always  of  a  far  greater  intellectual 
pride  than  might  be  readily  imagined,  and  keen  and  quick 
in  argument,  came  to  the  spokesman's  rescue.  He  was  the 
man  whose  eyes  had  applauded  the  prisoner's  endurance  — 
a  mere  tribesman,  of  the  rank  and  file  only  ;  he  had  a 
broad,  animated  countenance,  a  high,  aquiline  nose,  a  long, 
upper  lip,  and  a  distinct  accentuation  of  the  lines  of  his 
features.  He  wore  the  scanty  raiment  of  the  lower  grades 
of  the  Indian,  but  the  careful  and  elaborate  tattooing  of 
blue,  red,  and  green  indelible  paints  disposed  about  his 
limbs,  in  which  he  must  have  spent  much  arduous  labor, 
had  almost  the  effect  of  long  and  elaborately  embroidered 
hose  and  gloves.  He  had  a  shirt  of  buckskin,  devoid  of 
beads  or  ornaments,  save  a  fringe  about  its  edge,  but  which 
seemed  remarkably  plain  in  contrast  with  the  decorations 
of  his  arms  and  legs.  He  leaned  upon  a  gun  of  very  doubt 
ful  intentions,  unlike  the  smart,  British  "  Brown  Bess,"  with 


A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER  53 

which  the  tribe,  however,  was  generally  armed.  With  a 
vivacious  air,  he  demanded  of  the  Frenchman  if  he  had 
forgotten  "Ablaham"  so  soon. 

"  Abraham  ?  "  said  Laroche  vaguely. 

"  The  white  man's  poor  memory  !  It  was  his  treaty  he 
forgot,  usually,  but  now  he  had  forgotten  too  his  religion. 
He  had  forgot  Ablaham  —  the  great  white  chief  whom  he 
was  telling  Moy  Toy  about  yesterday  !  " 

Laroche  remembered,  with  a  pang  as  for  a  folly,  an  ef 
fort  at  the  conversion  of  the  ignorant  savage.  Yesterday 
—  only  yesterday  !  —  he  had  sought  to  explain  to  Moy  Toy 
the  plan  of  salvation  and  to  enlist  his  interest.  He  laughed 
aloud  in  bitter  mirth  —  a  short,  hollow  note,  and  then 
must  come  contrition  and  a  mutter  of  prayer.  Abraham 
and  Isaac  —  how  far  away  they  seemed  ! 

"But,  my  friend,"  he  said,  "the  injunction  to  shed  in 
nocent  blood  was  for  a  purpose  —  to  test  the  faith  of  the 
great  chief  ;  and  the  blood  of  the  innocent  was  not  exacted. 
I  have  done  nothing.  I  only  am  deserted,  caught  here  as 
in  a  trap." 

"  Likewise  was  the  ram  whose  blood  was  shed,"  declared 
the  specious  Indian,  his  eyes  flashing  fire,  —  "  caught  as  in 
a  trap  by  the  horns  in  a  thicket.  And  the  ram  had  done 
nothing." 

The  Frenchman  was  fairly  silenced ;  the  others,  hardly 
comprehending  the  discourse,  not  having  burdened  their 
minds  with  Abraham  and  his  experiences,  conceiving  him 
to  be  an  Indian  agent,  or  in  some  other  position  near  the 
governor  of  Louisiana,  Georgia,  or  South  Carolina,  only 
discerned  from  the  facial  expression  of  the  two  men  that 
the  Cherokee's  keen  wits  had  come  off  victorious  in  the 
encounter,  and  despite  their  gloom,  they  made  shift  to  smile 
at  each  other  in  ostentatious  amusement,  and  in  derision  of 
the  purblind  white  man. 

Laroche' s  anxiety  and  apprehension  were  hardly  assuaged 


54  A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

by  the  recollection  of  the  blood-offerings  among  the  reli 
gious  observances  of  the  Cherokees,  intimately  connected 
with  their  system  of  government  and  warfare,  which  had 
recalled  strongly  to  his  mind  associations  with  the  Mosaic 
dispensation.  Many  minute  requirements  and  ceremonies 
savored  of  the  Hebraic  ritual,  and  in  their  distortions  had 
impressed  him  as  survivals  of  actual  customs,  and  were  thus 
more  significant  than  the  legends  found  among  the  tribes 
betokening  Scriptural  suggestions  and  supposed  to  be  the 
result,  disjecta  membra,  of  the  teachings  and  traditions  of 
Catholic  truths  which  Cabeza  de  Vaca  left  among  the  South 
ern  Indians. 

Laroche  sought  to  compose  his  mind.  He  was  a  sol 
dier,  and  would  muster  all  a  soldier's  courage,  —  a  Christian, 
whose  hope  was  in  no  help  of  man.  He  would  calm  him 
self  and  await  the  worst  or  the  best,  as  God  should  choose 
to  send  it,  with  the  serenity  of  one  whose  life  is,  after  all, 
not  his  own.  As  he  stood  there  in  the  wide  glare  of  the 
sun,  it  seemed  to  have  grown  speedily  and  strangely  very 
hot.  His  eyes  were  on  the  mountains  far  away,  that  through 
the  silvery,  vernal  mists,  forever  shifting,  belied  their  stanch 
and  massive  solidities  by  a  shimmer  like  some  wavering, 
blue  sea ;  not  a  breath  of  air  was  in  the  deep,  green  shadows 
of  the  darkling  ranges  close  at  hand ;  the  river,  a  wide  blade 
of  steel  without  flaw,  bore  the  polish  of  a  mirror  and  a 
blinding  glitter.  Suddenly  a  cold  chill  struck  through  him. 
At  first  it  crept  along  his  spinal  column,  slight,  insidious, 
vaguely  shivering ;  then  in  its  icy  thrall  he  shuddered  again 
and  again ;  the  drops  that  fell  from  his  brow  upon  his  hands 
were  ice  cold,  and  as  he  looked  down,  wondering,  at  his  long, 
thin  fingers  he  saw  that  they  were  blue  under  the  nails  to 
the  first  joint.  Some  change  in  his  face  had  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  Indians.  They  were  all  gazing  up  at  him 
in  surprise,  as  shudder  after  shudder  went  over  his  features, 
pallid  even  to  blueness.  He  instinctively  put  up  his  hand 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  55 

to  his  brow,  and  he  found  that  even  to  his  cold  fingers  its 
touch  was  like  marble.  He  was  obviously  very  near  death, 
done  with  the  world  and  with  worldly  pride,  but  he  was 
still  a  soldier,  and  his  pulses  beat  to  a  martial  point  of 
honor.  He  could  have  died  with  shame,  albeit  the  specta 
tors  were  but  savages  ;  for  he  thought  this  manifestation 
purported  the  subjection  of  fear,  and  that  thus  the  staring 
Indians  recognized  it. 

Averse  as  they  were,  they  accounted  him  no  coward.  In 
truth,  his  stanch,  compact  physique  and  his  bold  spirit 
promised  good  sport  at  the  torture,  and  they  had  discussed 
with  one  another  from  time  to  time  the  various  details  of 
the  anguish  which  his  strength  and  courage  would  enable 
him  to  sustain,  and  which  sometimes  weaker  and  fainter 
hearted  men  eluded  and  despoiled  by  dying  prematurely. 
They  could  hardly  explain  the  change  in  his  complexion 
and  expression  of  countenance,  and  only  wondered  while 
they  looked,  and  presently  it  passed  away,  leaving  the  flesh 
of  a  ghastly,  uniform  pallor,  flabby  and  listless. 

But  Laroche  had  hardly  recovered  his  normal  temper 
ature.  He  was  suddenly  weak  and  tremulous.  He  could 
no  longer  sustain  the  standing  posture.  In  another  mo 
ment  he  would  have  fallen.  With  his  winning  affability 
and  gay  grace,  that  became  his  ghastly,  stricken  face  as  a 
wreath  of  flowers  might  a  death's  head,  he  remarked  that 
since  they  were  all  sitting  he  would  take  the  liberty  of  sit 
ting  too,  and  ran  down  two  or  three  of  the  grassy  steps  of 
the  mound  and  there  dropped  upon  the  turf,  half  reclining, 
one  elbow  on  the  step  above  him,  supporting  his  head  in 
his  hand,  and  with  his  limbs  stretched  out  at  length  across 
the  stairs  below.  The  Indian  guard  at  the  foot  of  the 
mound  did  not  stir,  save  that  the  acquaintance  of  "  Abla- 
ham "  placed  a  finger  ostentatiously  on  the  trigger  of  his 
loaded  gun.  Laroche  looked  at  him  with  a  laughing  sneer 
that  taunted  him  to  do  his  worst.  The  slug  of  the  charge 


56  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

% 

would  have  been  too  merciful.6  There  was  no  intention 
in  the  threat,  and  the  Indian  laughed  like  a  roguish  child 
detected  in  a  bit  of  mischief. 

The  sky  was  reddening  at  last  and  Laroche,  looking  over 
to  the  far  west,  felt  as  if  that  incarnadined  glow  in  the 
heavens  was  rising  in  his  veins  as  the  sun  went  down.  It 
was  not  the  red  reflection  on  his  face,  but  the  blood  mus* 
tering  close  under  the  skin  when  he  again  changed  color. 
He  felt  it  racing  and  rushing  through  his  veins,  ever  quick 
ening,  ever  wilder. 

His  mood  changed.  He  had  been  saying  to  himself  that 
it  was  no  matter  when  or  how  painfully  he  died.  He  wished 
that  he  might  see  a  priest  —  the  good  Pere  Frangois;  he 
caught  himself  hastily,  remembering  that  piteous  death  of 
the  father.  Alas,  when  and  how  painfully  have  died  many, 
many  of  the  Order  of  Jesus,  here,  there,  in  every  clime  !  He 
said  to  himself  that  he  should  be  proud  that  it  fell  to  his 
lot  to  emulate  the  mortuary  example  of  those  undying  mis 
sionaries,  that  yet  in  the  flesh  died  so  hardily. 

"  Quibus  dignus  non  erat  mundus !  "  he  declared  in 
swelling  phrase,  ore  rotunda. 

But  with  the  sudden  surging  of  his  fevered  blood  he  pro 
tested.  They,  —  God  knew  he  wished  to  detract  no  whit 
from  their  credit,  —  but  they  were  spiritual-minded  men, 
many  convent-bred,  ascetic,  he  had  almost  said  superstitious, 
solicitous  for  the  martyr's  crown,  with  a  talent  for  dying, 
and  a  positive  genius  for  remitting  to  everlasting  opprobrium 
throughout  all  the  ages  their  misguided  murderers. 

He  broke  off  from  these  reflections  with  a  sudden,  loud, 
hilarious  laugh  that  echoed  far  through  the  quiet  town  on 
whose  death-stricken  ways  the  dusk  was  gradually  descend 
ing,  and  brought  his  Indian  guard  to  their  feet  with  an  ab 
rupt  spring,  staring  at  him  with  vague  wonder  through  the 
gloom. 

His  eyes,  meeting  theirs,  were  large,  dilated,  curiously 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  57 

bright.  There  seemed  no  recognition  in  them.  He  did 
not  answer  when  they  spoke,  but  shifting  his  posture 
slightly  went  on  muttering  to  himself ;  his  mind  thus  be 
yond  the  control  of  his  will,  he  formulated  more  candor 
than  his  disciplined  judgment  was  wont  to  recognize.  They 
were  spiritual-minded  men,  he  reiterated,  the  Jesuit  martyrs. 
For  himself,  —  he  was  a  soldier,  not  a  martyr.  Dying  was 
the  last  thing  a  soldier  should  do,  —  and  once  more  his 
foolish,  frivolous  laugh  rang  through  the  melancholy  glooms 
of  the  bereaved  town.  He  was  not  fitted  to  die  thus,  — 
the  prey  of  unreasoning  devils  called  by  complaisance  sav 
ages,  to  whom  he  had  been  sent  on  a  mission  of  importance 
to  French  politics.  His  grave,  his  honorable  grave,  awaited 
him  on  some  stricken  field  of  battle.  He  had  thought  a 
hundred  times  how  it  might  come,  —  in  the  rebuilding  of 
some  destroyed  bridge  which  the  enemy — peste!  he  al 
ways  destroys  the  good  bridges !  —  or  perhaps  in  pushing  a 
parallel  closer  and  closer  to  the  lines  of  the  doomed  defenses, 
—  a  ball  from  the  chemin  convert  of  the  fort  might  find  a 
vital  spot.  Would  he  shun  it  ?  —  fear  death  ?  —  "  Je  te 
fais  mes  compliments !  "  He  stood  suddenly  erect  and 
saluted.  Then  he  collapsed  upon  the  ground.  A  soldier's 
hasty  grave  on  the  field  of  battle,  —  he  coveted  it.  For 
shrift,  —  the  pressure  of  a  good  comrade's  hand  might  bid 
him  Godspeed.  A  soldier  has  few  sins  to  confess.  Little 
is  required  of,  him  —  he  is  merely  a  soldier —  all  body  and 
heart  —  a  mere  bit  of  a  soul  !  But  these  priests  —  these 
spiritual  men  —  they  who  can  profess  so  much,  why  should 
they  fail  ? 

A  light  was  presently  glimmering  in  the  dusk, — clear, 
luminous,  a  pyramidal  flare  approaching  rapidly,  then  paus 
ing  as  in  uncertainty,  flickering  through  the  blue  darkness, 
and  once  more  drawing  near. 

"  The  lanthorns  of  the  burial  parties/7  he  said,  contem 
plating  with  a  gentle  melancholy  the  battlefield  of  his  fancy. 


58  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

"  Many  a  fine  fellow  coming  to-day  that  must  "be  carried  to 
morrow." 

Then  swiftly  repeating  a  series  of  measurements  and 
mathematical  calculations,  he  rose  as  the  light  paused  at  the 
foot  of  the  mound  and  the  flare  of  the  torch  fell  upon  the 
face  of  Moy  Toy,  summoned  hither  by  the  weird  sound  of 
that  strange,  hilarious  laughter,  and  minded  to  advance  the 
hour  for  the  prisoner's  torture  and  death,  since  he  must 
needs  be  so  obtrusively  merry  in  the  face  of  their  distresses 
and  disasters. 

Laroche  recognized  him  vaguely,  but  naught  of  the  cir 
cumstances  which  environed  him.  He  lifted  his  voice  as 
he  pursued  his  train  of  remarks,  expressing  the  jumble  of 
his  ideas. 

"  Un  bastion,  Moy  Toy,  avec  un  ravelin,  —  et  une  fraise 
d'epine  ne  serait  pas  inutile  !  —  Ik,  —  Ik,  —  sur  le  bord  de 
la  riviere,  —  quatre-vingts  toises  de  distance,  —  pour  enfiler 
les  colonnes,  —  la  fosse,  —  k  la  portee  du  canon,  —  donnez 
dix-huit  pieds  de  large  au  parapet,  —  et  puis,  —  et  puis,"  — 

He  ran  down  the  steps  and  laid  his  hot  hand  upon  the 
arm  of  the  Cherokee  chief,  who  stared  aghast  at  this  mani 
festation  of  a  strange  distemper. 

It  was  well  for  Laroche  that  the  Cherokees  did  not  feel 
it  incumbent  upon  them  to  preserve  the  grace  of  consist 
ency.  If  he  had  continued  in  health,  he  would  assuredly 
have  been  put  to  death  with  tortures,  in  satisfaction  of  the 
iniquities  of  the  embassy  of  which  he  was  a  member,  but 
his  wandering  mind,  his  evident  delirium,  precluded  his 
knowledge  of  his  own  fate,  and  thus  robbed  the  torture  of 
its  choicest  delight,  the  fear  and  mental  misery  of  the  victim, 
as  well  as  his  bodily  agony.  A  postponement  of  the  sen 
tence  was  hastily  agreed  upon,  and  the  patient,  still  declaim 
ing  upon  the  advantage  of  one  system  of  fortification  and 
contemptuously  disparaging  others,  was  gently  conveyed,  for 
he  could  no  longer  walk,  to  the  stranger-house  which  he 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  59 

and  Push-koosh  had  occupied,  put  to  bed  on  the  elastic  cane- 
wrought  mattress,  and  the  medicine-men  were  summoned  to 
exorcise  this  strange  demon  of  fever  which  had  possessed 
the  guest. 

The  skill  of  these  primitive  people  in  the  art  of  heal 
ing  was  said  to  be  very  considerable.  But  in  this  instance 
the  Cherokee  physicians  found  themselves  at  a  loss.  La- 
roche  had  duly  absorbed  the  atmospheric  miasma  of  the 
swampy  country  near  Mobile  and  New  Orleans,  which,  had 
he  remained  there,  might  have  occasioned  no  trouble.  But 
upon  his  sudden  removal  it  instantly  manifested  itself  in  a 
virulent  type  of  malarial  fever,  all  its  poison  elicited  by  the 
pure,  clear  air  of  this  mountain  region.  Hence  this  salubri 
ous  clime  has  been  called  "  the  unhealthiest  country  in  the 
world  "  by  suffering  subtropical  wights  who  would  not  be 
at  rest  at  home  and  could  not  be  well  elsewhere.  This 
theory,  exploited  long  since  those  times,  was  not  familiar 
to  the  two  cheerataghe,  who  rattled  their  calabashes  at  the 
fever  demon  with  hearty  good  will.  They  administered  the 
varied  decoctions  of  herbs  famous  as  febrifuges.  They 
repeated  aloud  their  ancient  incantations,  both  mandatory 
and  contemptuous,  bidding  the  malign  spirit  depart.  They 
arrayed  and  painted  themselves  in  frightful  guise  to  terrify 
the  fever  demon,  and  decorated  with  buffalo  horns  and  buf 
falo  tails,  they  rushed  roaring  from  right  to  left  in  front  of 
the  bed,  and  when  this  proved  futile,  from  left  to  right. 
They  subjected  the  patient  to  sudden  immersion  in  hot 
water,  and  then  in  cold,  and  again  to  a  steaming  process, 
placing  him  in  an  oven-like  structure  of  heated  rocks,  over 
which  water  was  poured,  —  all  without  avail.  The  Cherokee 
magicians  began  to  look  very  grave  and  ill  at  ease,  for  a  dark 
cloud  was  ominously  gathering  on  the  brow  of  Moy  Toy. 
All  at  once  Moy  Toy  had  come  to  covet  the  life  of  this 
man.  It  must  be  captured  from  death.  He  must  be 
snatched  from  the  already  open  grave.  Not  for  the  satis- 


60  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

faction  of  exacting  that  terrible  penalty,  as  one  of  the 
treacherous  Choctaw  embassy ;  not  for  the  keen  delight  of 
the  spectacle  of  his  death  by  torture.  Any  unlucky  French 
wight  captured  from  the  Illinois  country  ;  or  some  help 
less  English  body,  unknown  or  of  scant  note,  wandering 
away  from  a  kindly  colonial  settlement  and  heard  of  never 
again  ;  or  even  a  stanch  Indian  of  one  of  the  inimical  tribes, 
—  Muscogee,  Tuscarora,  Seneca,  —  any  mere  man,  in  short, 
who  had  blood  to  spill,  and  bones  to  break,  and  nerves  to 
writhe  might  furnish  this  sport.  With  this  man's  death 
more  was  lost,  —  a  subtle,  keen  brain,  technical  military 
knowledge,  practical  military  experience,  a  tongue  of  won 
drous  craft  trained  in  various  speech,  a  secret  cogent  influ 
ence  with  the  French  authorities  at  New  Orleans,  —  all 
calculated  to  subserve  the  Cherokees,  and  this  a  trifling 
kindliness  would  reinforce  by  the  claims  of  gratitude,  a 
claim  paramount  in  the  Indian  scheme  of  ethics. 

So  overwhelmed  had  been  the  wary  Moy  Toy's  brain  by 
the  surprise,  the  fury,  the  grief  attending  the  catastrophe  of 
the  massacre  of  his  young  tribesmen,  that  these  considera 
tions  were  not  even  dimly  presented  to  his  alert  perceptions 
till  the  moment  that  Laroche  dashed  down  the  stairs  of 
the  mound  and  impetuously  flung  himself  into  his  host's 
arms  with  his  delirious  babble  of  military  works  and  muni 
tions  of  war.  It  was  at  first  but  a  vague  impression,  a 
doubtful  suggestion.  The  crafty  Indian  mind  dwelt  upon 
it  in  the  days  that  came  and  went.  Time  seemed  to  em 
bellish,  to  perfect  it.  And  now  it  had  become  the  dearest 
boon  of  fate,  and  the  Indian  could  not,  would  not  forego  it. 
For  this  man  could  design  and  build  a  fort  that  could  with 
stand  a  British  assault !  He  could  so  dispose  the  Indian 
facilities  as  to  enable  them  to  defend  it.  He  could  by  rea 
son  of  his  connection  with  the  French  government  secure 
such  munitions  of  war  as  would  complete  its  armament. 
An  impregnable  stronghold  in  the  wilderness,  with  scientific- 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  61 

ally  handled  artillery,  could  set  at  naught  British  aggres 
sion  and  hold  the  country. 

Turned  in  whatever  light,  the  idea  presented  a  perfect 
symmetry.  It  was  like  a  many  faceted  gem.  And  thus 
the  two  magicians,  men  of  herbs  and  simples,  found  their 
equanimity  shaken  and  their  capacities  seriously  hampered 
by  the  continual  presentation  of  Moy  Toy's  imperious  coun 
tenance  at  the  door  of  the  stranger-house,  and  the  sight  of 
his  agitation  and  anger  that  the  cheerataghe  had  failed  to 
exorcise  the  demon  of  fever  and  work  a  cure.  Therefore 
they  besought  him  to  leave  the  sufferer  to  their  ministra 
tions  ;  for  his  angry  countenance  caused  their  hearts  to 
weigh  very  heavy  within  them,  and  his  sharp  speeches  gave 
great  offense  to  the  demon  of  fever,  who  had  never  within 
all  their  experience  conducted  himself  in  the  wayward, 
troublous  manner  of  his  present  manifestations. 

"  But  the  man  will  die !  "  said  Moy  Toy,  looking  down 
in  angry  despair  at  the  wasted  face  and  form,  as  the  restless 
head  of  the  patient  turned  from  side  to  side,  always  weary, 
vainly  seeking  rest. 

"  Is  he  the  first  ?  "  asked  one  of  the  cheerataghe.  For 
like  a  physician  of  civilization,  he  by  no  means  guaranteed 
the  continuance  of  life  by  virtue  of  his  science. 

It  was  very  honestly  and  earnestly  exerted,  and  both  he  and 
his  colleague  felt  all  the  virtuous  rage  of  sustaining  a  grievous 
injustice  when  Moy  Toy  said,  with  a  rancor  that  surprised 
them  (for  quarrels  and  unkindness  to  one  another  were  al 
most  unknown  in  the  tribe,  the  utmost  placidity  of  temper 
and  mutual  forbearance  being  de  rigueur),  "  You  promised 
rain,  —  and  behold  at  this  season  of  the  year  a  drought  last 
ing  six  weeks,  and  the  planting  of  corn  delayed  till  a  famine 
threatens,  and  not  a  drop  till  to-day." 

"  A  visitation !  a  visitation !  because  of  the  sins  of  the 
people  and  their  hardness  of  heart ! "  cried  the  two  magi 
in  a  breath. 


62  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

Wherein  they  improved  an  advantage  over  the  faculty  of 
to-day. 

Moy  Toy  silently  gazed  down  at  the  rolling  head  and 
the  fixed,  absorbed  eyes  bent  steadily  on  some  phantasma 
goria  of  the  fever.  He  noted  the  weakness  of  the  once 
clear,  strong  voice,  —  the  definite,  trained  enunciation  had 
sunk  to  a  husky  mutter.  Still  Laroche  babbled  of  mili 
tary  operations,  for  now  and  again  Moy  Toy  caught  the 
phrases  "  quatre  mortiers  —  Coehorn  —  champ  de  bataille 
—  barils  de  poudre,"  although  the  rest  was  unintelligible, 
for  now  he  spoke  continuously  in  French. 

"  He  must  live  !  He  must  live  for  the  Cherokee  na 
tion  ! "  exclaimed  the  chief,  with  the  insistence  of  hoping 
against  hope. 

One  of  the  cheerataghe  had  a  fine,  steady,  acute  eye,  a 
hideously  painted  face,  with  the  aspect  of  a  bedlamite,  ar 
rayed  as  he  was  with  buffalo  horns  and  tail,  and  with  his 
body  stuck  over  with  wings  of  owls,  the  calves  of  his  legs 
hung  with  a  dozen  garters  of  rattling  bell  buttons,  and  a 
long-handled  gourd  filled  with  pebbles  in  his  hands,  which 
were  covered  with  bear's  paws.  Perhaps  the  patient's  de 
lirium  could  present  nothing  more  grotesquely,  absurdly 
frightful. 

"  You,  Moy  Toy,"  he  said,  in  his  grave,  sonorous,  sane 
voice,  "  you  have  given  offense  to  the  demon  of  fever.  For 
when  the  sun  is  rising  the  man  revives  ;  he  will  take  drink, 
although  he  cannot  eat;  he  will  speak  Cherokee,  softly, 
softly ;  he  will  close  his  eyes  and  sleep.  And  then  come 
you  !  —  with  a  troubled  face,  and  a  harsh  voice,  and  an  eager 
step,  and  a  fierce  hurry !  And  the  demon  of  fever  is  an 
gered,  and  the  fever  grows  quicker,  and  more  eager,  and 
harsh,  and  angrier  than  you !  And  it  rises  and  rises  till 
the  man  will  not  drink  and  cannot  see,  and  has  no  speech 
but  a  shred  of  French  and  screams  for  dreams  that  are  with 
out  sleep  ! " 


A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER  63 

He  looked  to  his  colleague,  who  gravely  nodded  his  fan 
tastic  head  in  corroboration. 

Moy  Toy  silently  studied  the  face  first  of  one  of  the 
magicians,  then  of  the  other.  Although  immeasurably 
superstitious  and  credulous,  he  was  yet  grounded  in  craft 
and  suspicion.  And,  in  truth,  perhaps  he  was  not  without 
justification  ;  the  cheerataghe,  like  more  modern  disciples  of 
^Esculapius,  doubtless  often  attributed  to  other  causes  disas 
ters  consequent  upon  a  lack  of  skill  or  its  misdirection. 
In  this  instance,  however,  the  value  of  the  stake  at  hazard, 
the  imputation  of  the  malign  personal  influence  of  his  pre 
sence,  a  vague  indignation  that  he  should  be  esteemed  ob 
noxious  to  any  being  —  even  a  demon  of  fever  —  rendered 
Moy  Toy  peculiarly  alert,  watchful,  disposed  to  exact  to 
the  extremity  of  the  possibilities. 

The  two  cheerataghe,  as  his  glance  once  more  sought 
the  pallid  face,  the  ever-turning  head  on  the  pillow,  looked 
anxiously  at  each  other.  For  the  face  seemed  death-stricken. 
The  next  moment  they  took  sudden  hope.  A  change,  a 
vague,  indefinable  change,  quivered  over  it.  The  jumble  of 
French  words  faltered  on  Laroche's  feeble  tongue.  With 
unexampled  resolution,  he  pressed  firmly  his  silent  lips  to 
gether.  And  in  that  silence  the  wary  Indians  heard  what 
had  come  first  to  his  ears.  Even  in  the  dullness  of  fever 
and  the  frenzy  of  delirium,  he  had  interpreted  its  signifi 
cance,  so  momentous  it  was  to  him.  A  voice  it  was  in  the 
broad  spaces  of  the  "  beloved  square "  without,  a  bold, 
hearty,  roaring  voice,  speaking  the  English  language  with  a 
blatant  Scotch  accent. 

The  three  Cherokees  gazed  at  one  another  in  tumultuous 
and  contending  emotions.  They  experienced  much  grati 
tude  that  the  spark  of  perception  intimated  they  might  still 
hope.  They  could  hardly  repress  their  admiration  of  the 
finesse,  the  courage,  the  mental  balance,  that  enabled  La- 
roche  to  perceive  the  crisis,  interpret  its  meaning,  and  meet 


64  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

it  with  a  sane  judgment, — his  self-control,  which  even  in 
the  thrall  of  fever  could  curb  the  infirmities  of  that  weakly, 
babhling  tongue,  and  silence  the  self -betrayal  of  the  French 
speech  upon  it.  All  their  excitement,  however,  was  subor 
dinated  to  the  triumph  in  his  craft  that  stimulated  their  own 
emulous  resources.  He  was  indeed  in  great  danger.  Emis 
saries  of  the  French  among  the  Indians,  having  done  so 
much  to  instigate  and  maintain  the  late  Cherokee  War, 
were  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the  British  authorities.  In 
fact,  rewards  had  been  offered  for  their  scalps,  and  by  the 
late  treaty  the  Cherokees  themselves  were  pledged  to  arrest 
and  surrender  these  enemies  of  the  English.  Moy  Toy, 
making  a  gesture  imposing  secrecy,  stepped  out  of  the 
door  to  meet  the  visitor,  who  was  clamoring  as  loudly  and 
boldly  in  the  "  beloved  square  "  as  if  he  were  in  his  own 
byre. 

"  Hegh,  Moy  Toy  !  "  he  cried  bluffly,  breaking  away  from 
the  "  second  men,"  as  the  subordinate  authorities  of  the 
town  were  called,  "  how 's  a'  wi*  ye,  man  ?  " 

He  was  a  tall,  heavy,  awkward  fellow,  with  a  boiste-rous, 
assured  address,  a  broad,  red  face,  light  almost  flaxen  hair, 
plaited  and  tied  with  a  leather  thong  in  a  queue,  arrayed  in 
buckskins  but  with  long  cowhide  boots,  and  enveloped  in 
a  great  match-coat,  for  it  had  been  raining  heavily,  and  the 
drops  still  clung  upon  the  tufts  and  fibres  of  the  cloth. 
His  cap  of  coonskin,  with  the  tail  as  a  pendant,  was  pushed 
back  from  his  brow,  revealing  remarkably  straight,  regular, 
and  well-formed  features  and  shrewd,  blue  eyes.  He  held 
under  his  arm  a  stout  horsewhip  as  a  companion  rather  than 
a  weapon,  for  his  pistols  were  in  the  holsters  on  the  saddle 
of  his  nag,  which,  drenched  to  the  skin,  hung  down  its  head 
where  it  stood  unceremoniously  hitched  to  a  stake  whereto 
was  sometimes  bound  a  victim  for  the  torture.  The  guest 
made  no  pretense  of  adapting  to  the  Indian  ceremonials 
the  manners  in  which  he  had  been  bred,  as  was  the  custom 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  65 

of  strangers  and  traders  generally,  or  of  recognizing  any 
princely  arrogations  on  the  part  of  Moy  Toy.  He  advanced 
with  great,  muscular  strides  toward  his  averse  host,  —  who 
visibly  winced  from  the  overpowering  redundancy,  as  it 
were,  of  his  presence,  —  seized  upon  the  limp  hand  of  the 
Indian,  and  crushed  it  in  his  cordial  grasp  as  if  Moy  Toy 
had  been  also  a  bold  Briton. 

"  How 's  a'  wi'  ye  ?  —  an'  what  d'  ye  hear  f rae  Charles- 
toun  ?  " 

There  was  scarce  similarity  between  this  hearty,  warm 
blooded  entity  and  a  snake,  but  Moy  Toy,  of  his  own  voli 
tion,  would  have  touched  neither  except  upon  necessity  or 
in  the  way  of  business.  The  fibres  of  his  hand  tingled  with 
the  consciousness  of  the  detested  impact  long  after  the 
trader's  unwelcome  grasp  had  relaxed  and  his  manual  energy 
was  expending  itself  in  aimlessly  cracking  his  whip  at  the 
sand  of  the  smooth  spaces  of  the  "  beloved  square."  There 
was  a  spark  of  smouldering  fire  in  the  eyes  of  the  Indian, 
a  tense  restraint  in  the  muscles  of  his  shoulders  and  his 
straight  back,  as  if  he  would  fain  hold  himself  under  strong 
control.  Albeit  his  interlocutor  spoke  English  he  under 
stood  Cherokee,  and  Moy  Toy  replied  in  his  native  tongue ; 
thus  each  talked  without  solicitude,  for  each  was  compre 
hensible  to  the  other.  The  Indian  said  that  he  had  no 
news  from  Carolina  and  inquired  in  turn,  but  with  scant 
show  of  interest,  "as  to  the  Muscogee  ?  " 

"  I  begin  to  think  a'  thae  carles  are  dead !  "  exclaimed 
Jock  Lesly,  with  a  vigorous  snap  of  the  whip.  "  They 
were  looked  for  to  join  the  Chickasaw  and  the  English  agen 
the  French  away  yon  to  the  south.  But  deil  ane  o'  them 
hae  minted  a  word  yet !  " 

The  Cherokee's  stately  dignity,  his  cautious,  reserved 
speech,  contrasted  strongly  with  the  Scotchman's  unsus 
picious  plainness,  as  he  waited  with  an  air  of  expectation. 
If  the  Indian  had  had  news,  he  would  not  have  bartered 


66  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

it  with  the  trader,  nor  indeed  had  the  trader  repaired  hither 
for  what  he  could  hear.  This  mutual  realization  embar 
rassed  the  pause,  yet  Jock  Lesly  still  sharply  cracked  his 
whip  at  the  sand  and  hesitated  as  to  what  he  should  say. 

With  all  the  thrifty  instincts  of  the  canny  Scotch  pio 
neer  of  that  day,  with  all  the  bold,  bluff  courage  of  his  vigor 
ous  personality,  Jock  Lesly  had  been  the  first,  and  as  yet 
the  only  trader  to  venture  back  within  the  remote  moun 
tain  region,  whence  the  fury  of  the  terrible  Cherokee  War 
had  driven  all  mercantile  enterprise.  Indeed,  the  treaty 
was  hardly  signed  before  he  was  again  in  the  place  that  had 
known  him  of  yore,  his  trading-house  rebuilt,  depending 
for  his  safety  partly  on  the  treaty  and  partly  on  his  utility 
to  the  savages,  his  popularity  among  them,  and  his  con 
science  void  of  offense  against  them. 

"  I  hae  had  as  muckle  o'  the  rack  an?  rief  o'  the  war  as 
ye,"  he  was  wont  to  say,  "  an'  the  Lard  kens  I  wad  wuss  to 
be  canty  and  quiet  enow." 

As  he  stood  looking  aimlessly  about,  he  noted  that  the 
ranges  were  all  full  of  mist  between  the  domes,  and  from 
the  soft  densities  of  its  white,  fluffy  masses  those  emi 
nences  rose  in  sombre,  purple  hues  and  massive  effects  against 
a  pale  gray  sky,  along  which  lay  horizontal  clouds,  of  a 
darker,  denser  gray.  The  river,  with  lace-like  films  of  mist 
hanging  in  the  budding  green  willows  and  pawpaws  of  its 
banks,  had  the  tint  of  burnished  copper.  The  great  trees 
of  the  limitless  forests,  and  those  gigantic  growths  around 
the  town,  dripped  with  moisture  as  they  hung  down  their 
sodden  branches  about  the  newly  washed  boles,  the  bark 
so  dense  of  color  as  to  suggest  the  effect  of  being  freshly 
painted.  A  dull  day  it  was,  and  the  atmosphere,  devoid  of 
all  elasticity,  seemed  almost  too  lifeless  to  breathe.  He 
broke  at  last  from  his  dubitation  and  began  in  his  neigh 
borly  wise  :  — 

"  A-weel,  a-weel,  Moy  Toy,  there  hae  been  a  wheen  idle, 


A  SPECTEE   OF  POWER  67 

feckless  loons  frae  your  toun  o'  Tellico  down  to  loco  Town 
aboot  my  trading-house.  An'  there  they  lifted  a  few  tri 
fles  frae  the  stock,  —  but  I  'se  no  grudge  that,  —  a  few  bit 
duds.  But  then  they  slartered  a  couple  o'  sheep,  —  an  auld 
yowe  and  a  yearlin'." 

Moy  Toy's  face  grew  dark  with  anger,  and  yet  almost 
kind  with  concern. 

The  good-natured  Scotchman  hastened  to  qualify.  "  They 
never  carried  aff  the  meat  nor  yet  the  pelts,  —  they  scalpit 
the  twa  puir  beastises  first,  an'  then  cut  their  throats.  I  'm 
no  the  waur  for  the  lack  o'  mutton,  but "  — 

Moy  Toy's  countenance  of  amazed  disfavor,  astounded  at 
the  account  of  this  curious  emprise,  coerced  sudden  intelli 
gibility. 

"Jus'  a  wheen  feckless  laddies  aping  their  elders,"  ex 
plained  Jock  Lesly,  doubtfully.  Then  with  an  uneasy 
laugh  he  added,  "  An'  the  bairns  cam  hame  wearin'  the 
scalps  at  their  belts.  I  chased  them  a'  the  way  with  the 
powney." 

Moy  Toy  did  not  laugh.  Indian  children  play  as  do 
children  of  other  nations,  reducing  to  the  circuit  of  their 
narrow  round  —  a  juvenile  microcosm  —  all  the  methods 
and  events  of  the  elder  world.  But  this  exploit  tran 
scended  the  limit  of  verisimilitude  and  entered  on  the 
realms  of  the  verities.  The  small  banditti  unchecked  would 
soon  venture  further  and  bring  upon  their  elders  anger,  re 
taliation,  embroilment,  with  the  trader,  and  premature  frac 
ture  of  the  treaty. 

"  They  shall  be  dry -scratched,"  said  Moy  Toy  promptly. 

"  Oh,  wow,  man  !  "  exclaimed  Jock  Lesly  sharply,  as  if 
he  had  been  suddenly  pinched.  "  Na,  —  na,  —  not  dry- 
scratched  !  Odd  !  I  could  na  sleep  in  my  bed  if  the  hem- 
pies  were  dry-scratched  for  me  !  —  they  ran  sae  supple  — 
the  knaves!  It  is  an  unchancy,  ugly  thing,  that  dry- 
scratching  !  Cuff  the  bairns  weel  —  or  gie  them  a  flogging 


68  A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

they  '11  remember.  Man  alive  !  flogging  is  healthy  for  boy 
or  beast !  1 7ve  had  it  a  thousand  times  frae  my  auld 
daddy,  God  bless  him  !  Flogging  is  what  ?s  made  the  Brit 
ish  nation  what  it  is,  —  but  dry-scratching,  —  1 7d  die  of  it 
mysel',  now.  Oh,  man,  —  oh,  man,  —  flog  7em  a  little,  — 
but  dry-scratched  —  oh,  wow,  wow !  " 

He  caught  at  the  arm  of  the  august  Moy  Toy,  who  was 
more  accustomed  to  order  the  torture  and  burning  of  Chris 
tian  captives  than  the  punishment  of  a  few  children  who 
had  offended  against  the  municipal  law.  He  made  no  sign 
and  stood  as  adamant,  but  other  Cherokees,  who  had  joined 
them,  were  smiling  and  looking  at  each  other  with  the 
softened  countenances  that  express  a  gentle  ridicule.  De 
spite  their  friendly  scorn,  the  kindly  trader's  deprecation  of 
the  punishment  of  the  children  and  his  wild  and  earnest 
plea  in  their  behalf  could  not  fail  to  commend  him  to  their 
tolerance,  and  went  far  to  explain  a  sort  of  popularity  that 
he  had  enjoyed  among  them.  They  knew  that  the  little 
drama  of  the  storming  of  the  sheep-fold  and  massacre  of 
its  inmates  was  too  significant  to  pass  without  notice,  and 
for  this  very  significance  the  punishment  decreed  was  to  be 
immediate  and  sharp,  to  teach  the  youngsters  where  fun 
ends  and  serious  fact  begins.  Indeed  Moy  Toy  himself 
saw  to  the  preparations  for  the  capture  and  condign  penance 
of  the  miscreants,  who,  having  returned  from  the  war-path 
scathless,  were  now  in  full  swing  of  a  mimic  celebration  of 
victory,  the  triumphant  scalps  in  evidence,  and  all  the  wide- 
eyed  children  of  the  town  in  joyful  participation. 

"  Deil  hae  ye,  then,  for  a  fause-hearted,  unceevilized  tyke 
as  ever  lived !  "  exclaimed  Lesly,  as  the  chief  drew  off  from 
his  grasp.  "  Egad  !  I  can  ne'er  abide  to  hear  ?em  skreigh 
like  that,  —  wow,  —  wow  !  "  And  clapping  his  hands  to 
his  ears,  the  Scotch  trader  fairly  ran  off  as  the  first  shrill 
plaint  of  protest  rose  upon  the  air. 

Now  it  was  a  point  of  juvenile  honor  to  bear  this  kind 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  69 

of  punishment  as  stoically  as  might  be,  and  a  severe  dry- 
scratching,  always  carefully  adapted  in  ferocity  to  the  age 
of  the  delinquent  and  his  capacity  to  support  pain,  usually 
drew  forth  a  tear  or  two  and  sometimes  only  murmuring 
sighs.  The  habitual  gentleness  of  the  savages  with  their 
children  doubtless  convinced  the  rising  generation  that  the 
punishment  was  only  intended  for  their  benefit  and  no  whit 
administered  in  anger  or  tyranny.  Therefore  in  submitting 
with  a  good  grace  they  were  contributing  so  far  as  in  them 
lay  to  their  own  moral  culture,  and  were  ambitious  of  the 
stoical  poise,  perhaps  to  make  the  penalty  as  salutary  as 
possible  and  go  as  far  in  reform  as  it  would. 

The  two  little  Indians  were  easily  stripped  of  such  sem 
blance  of  garments  as  they  wore,  and  as  they  were  being 
bound  to  the  stake  they  craftily  set  up  a  wild  and  poignant 
shriek  upon  seeing  the  Scotchman  in  full  flight  across  the 
"  beloved  square,'7  being  apprised  by  the  comments  of  the 
laughing  bystanders  of  his  intercession  in  their  behalf  and 
his  aversion  to  the  sight  and  sound  of  their  woe.  This  had 
considerable  justification,  for  thus  bound  and  helpless  they 
were  sharply  scratched  from  head  to  foot  repeatedly  with 
an  instrument  formed  of  snake's  teeth  fastened  in  the  end 
of  a  stick. 

Because  of  the  unusual  commotion  with  which  the  affair 
had  been  invested,  no  one  noticed  that  the  refuge  to  which 
the  Scotchman,  familiar  enough  with  the  place,  bent  his 
steps  was  the  stranger-house.  He  burst  in,  and  started 
back  astounded  at  the  figures  of  the  cheerataghe  arrayed  to 
frighten  the  fever  in  such  manner  as  might  have  frightened 
the  devil.  Then  the  trader's  eyes  fell  upon  the  white  man 
lying  helpless  on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  as  it  were,  the 
victim  of  the  fever. 

"  Lord  save  us  !  "  exclaimed  Lesly,  with  a  sudden  change 
of  countenance,  "wha  hae  we  here?" 

The  two  cheerataghe,  unaware  of  the  very  disconcerting 


70  A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

effect  of  their  own  professional  appearance,  themselves 
showed  every  sign  of  fear,  incongruous  enough  with  their 
terrifying  aspect.  In  fact  they  could  scarcely  have  been 
more  alarmed  had  Satan  himself  appeared,  for  they  were 
unacquainted  with  him  and  his  reputation,  while  quite  well 
aware  who  and  what  was  Jock  Lesly.  The  presence  of  the 
French  emissary  here  was  a  breach  of  the  treaty  lately 
renewed,  under  which  the  Cherokee  tribe  traded  with  the 
British,  and  a  menace  to  the  privileges  promised  to  the 
Indians  under  its  stipulations.  They  hardly  knew  how  to 
reply,  and  the  abrupt  entrance  of  Moy  Toy  was  like  a  rescue 
from  mortal  peril.  The  chief  had  bethought  himself  sud 
denly  of  the  possible  suspicion  of  the  stranger's  presence 
here  that  might  be  casually  conveyed  to  Jock  Lesly's  per 
ceptions,  while  free  in  the  town  unguarded  and  unwatched. 
Anything  so  complete,  so  inexplicable,  so  irrefutable  as  his 
intrusion  and  the  evidence  of  his  own  eyes  the  chief  had  not 
anticipated  for  a  moment,  and  his  ready  resources  of  subter 
fuge  failed  him  for  the  nonce. 

"  Puir  chield !  I  doubt  na  he  is  in  the  dead  thraw  !  " 
the  trader  muttered,  his  compassionate  instincts  uppermost. 
Then  impressed  by  something  unfamiliar  in  the  cast  of  the 
features,  he  asked  doubtfully,  "  Is  he  f rae  the  colonies,  — 
or  overseas  ?  " 

Laroche  had  been  divested  of  his  fine  French  uniform 
when  he  had  been  brought  here  ill ;  it  had  been  carefully 
put  away  in  view  of  its  future  use  by  his  captors,  being  an 
official  garb,  for  the  crafty  Moy  Toy  fancied  some  occasion 
might  arise  when  it  would  serve  a  diplomatic  turn.  More 
over  the  gold  lace  and  fine  cloth  were  much  too  dazzling, 
considered  merely  as  booty,  to  be  spared  to  the  prisoner  as 
habiliments  in  which  to  be  ill  or  tortured  or  buried.  In 
the  varied  experiments  of  the  cheerataghe,  contending  with 
the  rigors  of  the  chill  following  the  fever,  Laroche  had  been 
clad  in  buckskins,  supplemented  now  and  then  in  the  con- 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  71 

vulsions  of  the  shudders  and  shivers  by  one  of  those  feather- 
wrought  mantles  that  attracted  so  much  attention  from  the 
early  travelers  in  this  region,  the  effect  of  which  was  pro 
nounced  "  extraordinary  charming."  There  was  naught  to 
indicate  his  nationality  or  his  estate  as  captive.  Every  evi 
dence  of  care  and  solicitude  environed  the  patient,  and  Moy 
Toy's  explanation  seemed  obviously  genuine. 

The  sick  man  had  come  to  Great  Tellico,  the  chief  said, 
with  some  of  the  Cherokee  tribesmen  who  had  been  up  to 
Virginia,  and  being  taken  ill  they  had  left  him  to  recover 
while  they  went  their  various  ways  homeward.  He  did 
not  ask  the  man's  name  of  them,  thinking  to  learn  it  from 
himself.  He  had  been  only  a  little  ailing  at  first,  but  now 
one  hardly  knew  what  to  make  of  him. 

Jock  Lesly  seated  on  one  side  of  the  cabin  on  the  divan, 
with  his  hands  on  his  ponderous  knees,  his  head  bent  a  trifle 
forward,  gazed  thoughtfully  across  the  room  at  the  fevered 
patient,  as  not  so  long  ago  the  Choctaw  Mingo  had  sat  and 
glowered  at  the  recumbent  frame  then  sunken  in  sleep. 

"  He  is  gaun  to  dee  ! "  the  trader  remarked  dolorously, 
at  length,  and  the  words,  bespeaking  his  own  fear,  fell  with 
a  crushing  force  on  the  hopes  of  Moy  Toy. 

Jock  Lesly  drew  a  long  and  labored  sigh.  If  the  sor 
rows  of  the  little  dry-scratched  Indians  —  wicked  varlets 
—  could  take  such  hold  upon  the  sympathies  of  that  frank, 
compassionate  heart  of  his,  how  the  sight  of  this  tragedy 
racked  him,  —  this  valuable  life  going  out  in  exile,  among 
savages,  with  not  one  intelligent,  civilized  effort  made  to 
save  it. 

"  Gin  I  had  him  ance  at  hame  !  "  he  cried,  in  futile  aspi 
ration,  "I  doubt  but  what  Jeemes's  powder  might  wark 
a  cure ! " 

"  Carry  him  there !  The  demon  of  the  fever  may  not 
dare  to  cross  a  stranger's  threshold  !  "  cried  Moy  Toy,  with 
a  sudden  inspiration.  He  was  thinking  very  rapidly.  If 


72  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

some  untoward  chance  should  reveal  the  secret  of  the  nation 
ality  of  the  man,  which  even  in  delirium  he  instinctively 
guarded,  why  Jock  Lesly  and  his  household  were  practically 
alone  here,  hundreds  of  miles  from  any  English  settlements, 
and  accidents  were  lamentably  common  in  the  distracted 
Cherokee  country  at  present,  —  so  frequent,  indeed,  that  the 
discovery  might  go  no  farther  !  "  The  Cherokees  will  aid 
their  guest.  The  brothers  of  the  tribe  will  rejoice  to  bear 
the  burden  of  a  litter,"  he  continued.  "The  demon  of 
the  fever  maybe  does  not  know  the  way  to  loco  Town  and 
cannot  follow  !  " 

Jock  Lesly,  heeding  little  of  these  hopeful  schemes  for 
confounding  the  demon  of  the  fever,  sat  doubtful  neverthe 
less  and  dumfounded.  A  vague  sentiment  of  suspicion 
had  been  lurking  in  his  mind,  —  first,  that  the  Indians  had 
not  expected  him  to  discover  so  unusual  an  inmate  of  their 
stranger-house  as  this  white  man,  and  that  he  and  his  status 
were  not  as  represented.  Then  as  Moy  Toy  so  freely  and 
instantly  relinquished  his  custody,  the  trader  experienced 
as  vague  a  doubt  if  the  patient  had  had  fair  play  among 
them,  since  they  were  eager  to  get  rid  of  him  and  of  such 
responsibility  as  his  care  imposed. 

"  The  puir  Injun  !  "  Jock  Lesly  said  to  himself  reproach 
fully,  "  if  I  '11  suspicion  him  o'  ane  thing  I  '11  e'en  doubt 
him  o'  the  contrary." 

The  man  lay  as  in  a  "  dwam,"  to  use  Lesly's  expression. 
The  trader  crossed  the  room,  felt  the  temperature  of  the 
forehead,  noted  the  dull,  opaque  eyes,  and  laid  his  hand 
almost  paternally  upon  the  light  brown  hair  of  a  fine,  silky 
quality,  dense  and  curling. 

The  trader  was  an  unsophisticated  man,  unlearned  and  of  a 
scanty  experience  of  the  world,  his  life  having  been  spent 
for  the  last  ten  years  in  the  treadmill  round  of  a  British 
factory  in  the  Cherokee  country.  He  realized  his  responsi 
bility  and  he  shrank  from  it.  He  looked  at  the  impassive 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  73 

cheerataghe  and  received  no  light  upon  his  course.  He 
glanced  out  of  the  door. 

A  change  had  come  over  the  landscape.  The  wind  was 
astir,  —  the  clouds  were  flying  before  it.  Between  their 
dense  white  masses  the  sky  showed  intensely  blue,  incon 
ceivably  high.  The  sun  shone  with  a  vernal  brilliance,  — 
it  would  not  be  unduly  chilly  by  noon.  Fragrance  was  in 
the  air,  so  fine,  so  fresh,  so  illusive.  One  might  say  that 
it  was  the  scent  of  the  budding  wild  cherry  ;  or,  no,  —  the 
early  blooming  grape  ;  or,  stay,  —  the  delicate  aroma  of 
the  bark  of  a  tree,  touched  to  this  distillation  of  incense 
by  some  happy  combination  of  sun  and  wind  and  rain. 
The  whole  scene  beckoned,  lured,  besought. 

"  An'  what  for  no  ?  "  cried  Jock  Lesly,  his  resolution 
taken  at  last.  "  As  weel  dee  under  the  canopy  o'  heaven  as 
in  an  Injun's  cabin  !  " 

Every  precaution  that  could  be  devised  was  taken.  The 
litter,  fashioned  under  his  directions,  was  furnished  by  Moy 
Toy  munificently,  freely,  with  the  softest  skins  for  mattress, 
with  fine  fur  mantles  for  covering  that  were  impervious  to 
water  in  view  of  sudden  rain,  and  with  others,  feather- 
wrought,  light,  and  warm,  to  fend  off  all  deleterious  effects 
of  exposure.  A  dozen  tribesmen  bore  it,  stepping  lightly, 
easily,  on  their  springy  feet,  unshod  save  for  the  elastic  moc 
casins,  and  a  dozen  more  mounted  men  accompanied  it  to  act 
as  relays,  and,  thus  relieving  one  another,  suffer  no  fatigue 
to  retard  their  progress. 

"  A  body  wad  think  the  creature  was  a  Christian  instead 
of  a  doited  heathen ! "  Lesly  said  to  himself,  impressed  by 
Moy  Toy's  liberality  and  anxiety  in  this  work  of  mercy. 

For  Moy  Toy  had  despaired  of  the  efforts  of  the  cheera 
taghe  to  exorcise  the  demon  of  fever  and  save  this  life  to 
the  utilities  of  the  Cherokee  nation. 

"  It  is  some  devil  of  the  paleface  that  has  taken  hold  of 


74  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

him,"  the  chief  said  sagely  to  the  cheerataghe.    "  Let  him 
have  the  white  man's  charm  worked  on  him  !  " 

For  if  the  French  officer  should  die  on  the  way  to  loco 
Town,  would  he  not  also  have  died  at  Tellico  ? 


IV 

THE  moment  that  Laroche  was  recalled  to  life  was 
never  very  accurately  denned  in  his  mind,  so  gradually  did 
a  full  consciousness  return.  Nor  was  he  sure  how  entirely 
delirium  had  held  him  in  its  delusions.  His  speculations 
were  of  a  metaphysical  tendency  when  he  afterward  dwelt, 
with  a  microscopic  scrutiny,  upon  those  phenomena  of  in 
volved  cerehral  processes  manifested  in  the  sudden  silencing 
of  the  French  words  upon  his  dreaming  tongue,  as  it 
vaguely  shaped  the  confused  thoughts  of  a  stupefied  brain, 
—  all  upon  one  coherent  impulse,  on  the  sound  of  an  Eng 
lish  phrase  spoken  in  an  English  voice ! 

That  salutary  monition  abode  with  him,  whether  he 
slept,  whether  he  waked,  whether  he  lay  in  that  dim 
border  world  of  swoons  between  sleeping  and  waking.  He 
was  stricken  dumb,  although  he  could  hardly  be  said  to 
have  heard,  for  he  consciously  heard  naught.  And  if,  he 
argued,  these  perceptions  could  have  been  so  alert  to  the 
mere  vocal  vibrations  of  the  air,  the  instinct  of  danger  so 
keenly  receptive,  the  will  so  strangely  responsive  to  the  de 
mands  of  those  supersubtle,  unclassified  faculties,  although 
every  voluntary  function  of  the  muscles  lay  prostrate,  and 
every  recognized  process  of  the  brain  was  paralyzed,  did  not 
this  imply  some  curious  duality  of  identity,  an  absolute  inde 
pendence  of  the  intellectual  life,  unrelated  to  the  bodily 
functions,  since  so  complete  a  solution  of  continuity  had 
supervened  ?  It  might  have  been  that,  though  he  accounted 
himself  a  mere  blunt  soldier  and  upbraided  his  mismanage 
ment  that  had  jeopardized  the  interests  of  the  French  mis- 


76  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

sion,  he  was  so  complete  a  diplomat  at  heart  that  he  could 
withhold  with  a  nerveless  hand,  hear  with  a  deaf  ear,  plot 
albeit  with  a  swooning  brain,  and  hush  the  babblings  of  de 
lirium  to  keep  a  secret,  of  which  at  the  moment  he  had  no 
consciousness ! 

Thus,  although  his  pulses  ran  riot,  he  continued  to  main 
tain  a  tense  silence.  When  the  tumultuous  phantasmagoria 
of  frenzy  gave  place  to  visions  as  vain  but  calmer,  he  found 
himself  still  mute,  quiet,  orderly,  exact,  mentally  verifying 
with  mathematical  accuracy  the  relative  measurements  of  a 
line  of  field  fortifications,  so  designed  that  an  attacking  col 
umn  might  be  enfiladed  thence.  "  For  nothing,"  he  said 
to  himself  again  and  again,  "  can  stop  an  attacking  column 
that  is  not  enfiladed."  Later,  he  was  considering  the  possi 
bility  of  defending  effectively  a  certain  salient  angle  of  an 
imaginary  redoubt. 

To  prevent  the  enemy  from  carrying  the  redoubt  by 
storming  this  too  acute  angle  he  began  to  mount  a  battery 
en  barbette  in  the  dead  salient.  The  doubt  that  now  and 
again  seized  him  as  to  the  necessity  of  these  labors  was  dis 
pelled  by  the  actual  sight  of  the  canvas  walls  of  his  tent 
about  him,  and  therefore  he  would  busily  absorb  himself  once 
more  in  these  duties,  and  actively  prepared  to  defend  the  ditch 
of  the  redoubt  by  constructing  there  a  solid  caponniere. 

The  placid  peace  of  the  man  who  is  consciously  doing  his 
best  in  his  chosen  vocation  pervaded  his  whole  system,  men 
tal,  moral,  and  physical,  and  brought  refreshing,  curative 
sleep  to  his  pillow.  So  definite  a  hold  had  this  impression 
taken  upon  his  mind,  sleeping  and  waking,  that  one  morn 
ing  he  lifted  his  head  with  a  start  of  alarm.  There  upon 
the  sloping  canvas  walls  was  a  yellow  streak,  all  the  more 
vivid  for  the  white  glare  of  the  cloth  in  the  rising  sun,  — 
and  how  had  he  not  heard  the  reveille  ?  The  echo  of  the 
bugle  was  in  his  ears,  the  molten,  golden  notes  of  the  old 
French  call. 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  77 

A  strong  tremor  ran  through  the  elbow  on  which  he  had 
supported  his  head.  Alack !  no  stirring,  martial  strain  had 
summoned  him.  He  lay  back  on  his  pillow,  realizing  in  dis 
may  and  yet  in  surprise  that  the  walls  of  the  tent  of  his 
fancy  were  the  dimity  curtains  of  a  bed,  and  he  began  to 
remember  vaguely  the  chances  that  had  befallen  him  and 
to  seek  the  grace  to  be  thankful. . 

"  I  will  wait  and  see  what  cause  for  gratitude  I  may 
have,"  said  the  unsubdued  inner  man,  while  his  lips  framed 
the  verbal  show  of  a  thanksgiving.  His  state  of  mind 
might  have  furnished  still  more  suggestive  details  of  the 
possibility  of  a  dual  life  in  one  identity. 

Nevertheless  he  recognized  the  fact  that  as  far  as  the 
bodily  entity  was  concerned  it  was  distinctly  comfortable. 
Now  and  again  he  dropped  off  into  short,  luxurious  naps, 
even  between  the  stages  of  his  investigation  of  his  surround 
ings.  In  one  waking  interval  he  took  account  of  the  fur 
nishings  of  the  bed :  it  bore  sheets,  a  rarity  of  the  place 
and  time  so  unexpected,  so  inexplicable,  that  it  roused  new 
doubts  and  anxieties  as  to  where  he  was,  what  had  befallen 
him,  and  what  might  yet  betide.  Still  he  could  but  finger 
them  in  pleasure  and  with  a  childish  relish  of  luxury ;  — 
snow-white  they  were,  of  a  heavy,  fine  linen  smoothly  woven, 
with  the  fragrance  of  the  wood  violets  of  the  bleaching 
ground,  and  the  freshness  of  the  wind  yet  in  their  folds, 
as  it  seemed,  —  and  once  more  he  closed  his  eyes. 

When  he  wakened  again  he  had  so  far  accustomed  him 
self  to  the  homely  opulence  of  blankets  and  bedding  that 
he  was  prepared  in  a  measure  for  the  night-rail  in  which  he 
found  himself  clad,  but  not  for  its  size.  As  he  stretched 
out  the  voluminous  length  of  its  great  sleeve  and  took  ac 
count  of  its  breadth  of  shoulder,  "A  big  man  in  good 
earnest  this  was  made  for,  —  I  shall  take  care  to  be  friends 
with  the  monster  !  "  he  said. 

He  bethought  himself  suddenly  of  the  English  words 


78  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

that  he  had  heard,  —  a  mere  sound  and  locution,  —  yet  this 
was  the  only  definite  recollection  that  had  stayed  in  his 
mind  since  the  moment  he  had  beheld  the  flying  figures  of 
the  Choctaws  speeding  across  the  "  beloved  square  "  to  the 
pettiaugre.  He  must  bear  a  caution,  —  a  Frenchman,  and 
possibly  liable  to  be  accused  as  a  spy !  He  lifted  his 
wasted  hands  to  his  head  :  it  was  enveloped  in  a  red  night 
cap,  with  a  gay  tassel  swaying  on  its  fez-like  peak ;  and 
much  he  needed  it,  for  the  whole  head  had  been  shaved, 
sometime  since  evidently,  for  delicate  tendrils  of  a  new 
growth  were  starting  there  and  he  felt  fibres  moist  and  soft 
about  his  forehead. 

A  step  sounded  suddenly  outside,  heavy  but  cautious ;  a 
stealthy  hand  was  laid  upon  the  curtain ;  and  as  it  was 
drawn  aside  the  red  face  of  a  man  of  middle  age,  tall,  power 
ful,  flaxen-haired,  with  high  cheek  bones,  a  man  whom  La- 
roche  had  never  before  seen,  looked  in  upon  him.  Grave, 
astonished,  delighted,  the  stranger  seemed,  —  with  a  sudden 
twinkle  of  comprehension  in  his  blue  eyes  and  an  outburst 
of  joy  in  his  big  voice  that  made  the  bedstead  tremble  on 
the  uneven  puncheons  of  the  floor. 

"  Hegh,  callant !  "  he  cried,  as  their  eyes  met,  "  but  this 
dings  a' !  Lilias !  Callum ! "  he  began  to  call  over  his 
shoulder  to  other  inmates  of  the  house  in  so  stalwart  a  roar 
that  it  might  have  been  heard  half  a  mile.  It  easily  pene 
trated  the  flimsy  partitions  of  the  primitive  building,  and 
the  feet  of  those  summoned  were  audible  rapidly  approach 
ing.  "  Here  ?s  the  callant ! "  he  exclaimed,  as  the  door 
opened.  "  Here  he  is,  —  a'  himsel'  again !  " 

He  had  the  manner  of  announcing  the  arrival  of  a  guest, 
and  Laroche  easily  divined,  from  the  hiatus  in  his  recollec 
tions,  that  he  could  hardly  have  been  considered  present 
hitherto,  although  visible  in  the  flesh. 

A  young  man,  with  less  enthusiasm,  but  still  an  air  of 
proper  pleasure,  partly  induced  by  genuine  gratulation  upon 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  79 

so  happy  an  augury  of  the  termination  of  a  serious  illness, 
and  partly  in  propitiation  of  the  elder,  whom  it  was  evident 
he  would  have  crossed  upon  no  slight  occasion,  advanced  to 
the  bedside  and  declared  that  he  was  glad  to  see  that  the 
patient  had  recovered  his  consciousness  and  doubted  not 
that  he  would  soon  be  on  his  feet.  This  young  man  wore 
the  Highland  garb,  from  which  Laroche  inferred,  somewhat 
quakingly,  that  he  was  of  the  British  soldiery  who  had 
been  active  in  this  region  during  the  previous  two  years,  in 
the  campaigns  conducted  by  Montgomerie  and  afterward  by 
Grant  against  the  Cherokees,  in  which  the  Montgomerie 
Highlanders  (the  Seventy-Seventh  Regiment)  and  others 
had  participated,  for  at  this  time  the  national  dress  was 
proscribed  except  for  those  enlisted  in  British  regiments. 
A  barbarous  garb  the  Frenchman  considered  it,  hardly  a 
whit  in  advance  of  the  savage  decorations  he  had  been  called 
upon  to  note  at  Tellico  Great,  —  so  strong  were  the  inter 
national  prejudices  of  those  days.  For  in  truth  it  was  a 
manly  and  graceful  figure  appropriately  bedight,  —  with 
swaying  kilt,  the  short  coat,  the  blue  bonnet,  with  its  bit 
of  bearskin  decoration.  The  young  Highlander's  fair  hair 
hung  down  thick  and  half  curling  from  beneath  this  blue 
bonnet  and  lay  in  an  effectively  contrasting  tint  upon  the  col 
lar  of  the  red  jacket,  which  constituted  at  that  time  part  of 
the  dress  of  the  Forty-Second  Eegiment,  and  was  worn  with 
a  red  waistcoat.  The  latter,  we  are  informed,  was  made 
over,  in  the  governmental  thriftiness,  from  the  red  coat  after 
a  year's  wear,  while  the  plaid,  furnished  biennially,  subse 
quently  did  duty  cut  down  and  frugally  reconstructed  into 
the  filibeg.  But  if  the  wildernesses  of  the  Great  Smoky 
of  that  day  at  all  resembled  the  tangled  forest  densities 
which  still  remain,  the  military  tailor  who  refashioned  any 
garments  whatever  from  the  gear  that  survived  the  marches 
through  those  brambly  mountain  jungles  deserved  immor 
talizing  above  all  other  knights  of  the  shears. 


80  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

The  dark  blues  and  greens  of  the  sombre  "  Black  Watch  " 
tartan  in  Callum's  plaid  and  kilt  afforded  an  added  fair 
ness  to  his  locks.  His  florid  complexion  showed  a  fluctu 
ating  red  and  white.  His  blue  eyes  were  large  and  well 
set,  with  lashes  and  eyebrows  much  darker  than  the  shade 
of  his  hair.  He  had  high  cheek  bones  and  an  expressive 
mouth,  with  finely  cut  lips,  red  and  mobile,  often  parted  in 
the  blithest  laughter  for  very  slight  cause,  and  exhibiting 
two  unbroken  rows  of  strong,  white  teeth.  His  smiling 
face  was  as  frank  and  honest  as  the  sun. 

Laroche's  sudden  dislike  of  this  young  stranger  sur 
prised  himself  and  dismayed  him  as  well.  For  would  he 
have  experienced  this  emotion  were  the  third  member  of  the 
little  group  that  stood  by  the  bed  different  from  what  she 
was  ?  Her  likeness  to  her  father  might  have  served  as  an 
illustration  of  the  apotheosis  of  humanity  in  a  spiritual 
miracle.  Jock  Lesly's  flaxen  hair,  half  gray,  half  tow,  was 
golden  in  the  glistening  soft  skeins  of  silk  that  swept  up 
ward  from  her  brow  in  heavy  undulations.  The  blue  veins 
that  showed  so  definitely  in  the  temples  could  not  have 
vaunted  their  delicate  tracery  through  a  skin  less  fine  and 
fair.  Here  and  there  was  a  freckle,  but  a  faint  blush-rose 
bloomed  over  the  whole  cheek  as  if  it  sweetened  the  air. 
Her  figure,  draped  in  a  sober,  gray  gown,  was  tall  and 
strong,  but  a  trifle  angular,  denoting  more  bone  and  muscle 
than  exuberance  of  flesh.  In  fact  she  was  frankly  thin, 
although  her  face  was  so  delicately  rounded.  No  small 
rosebud  mouth,  but  shapely,  dainty,  red  lips,  the  upper 
deeply  indented  in  the  centre  like  the  curve  of  a  bow, 
opened  over  white,  regularly  formed  teeth,  —  a  mouth  of 
beauty  but  of  character  also,  whence  might  proceed  sage 
household  counsels,  and  words  full  of  judgment,  just  re 
proof,  and  deserved  applause.  She  was  the  ideal  of  a  help 
meet.  She  seemed  to  Laroche  the  thought  God  had  in 
mind  when  He  made  woman,  before  she  so  whimsically 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  81 

refashioned  herself  after  her  own  feminine  ideal.  And  if 
any  man  deemed  that  he  needed  help  it  was  Calluin  Mac- 
Ilvesty,  and  that  the  woman  to  assist  him  on  the  path  of 
life  was  Lilias  Lesly. 

If  aught  of  the  cynical  reflections  that  this  discernment  of 
the  persons  and  predilections  of  the  group  afforded  Laroche 
appeared  in  his  worn  arid  wasted  countenance  it  went  un 
discovered,  so  great  was  their  pleasure  in  the  success  of 
their  ministrations  and  his  happy  prospect  of  a  speedy  re 
covery.  They  were  all  aimlessly  laughing  from  sheer 
triumph ;  only  there  was  a  suggestion  of  moisture  in  the 
eyes  of  Lilias,  — or  were  they  always  so  liquid,  so  luminous, 
so  deeply  blue,  so  heavily  lashed  with  those  long,  dark 
fringes. 

"  And  ye  '11  breakfast  enow  !  "  roared  Jock  Lesly  heart 
ily.  "  Lay  the  cloth  here,  Lilias.  We  'se  all  take  potluck 
wi'  him ! " 

The  young  Highlander  pleasantly  seconded  the  hospita 
ble  motion,  and  the  objection  advanced  by  Lilias  that  the 
invalid  was  not  equal  to  entertaining  so  much  company  was 
drowned  and  overborne  in  her  father's  imperative  orders. 

"  Aye,  lass,  ye  ken  how  to  care  for  a  sick  man,  but  this 
fallow  is  weel  now  an'  a  proper  lad,  strong  enough.  D'  ye 
think  ye  '11  hae  him  doun  on  spoon  meat  an'  gruel  an'  sic 
like  fripperies  a'  his  days  !  That 's  aye  the  trouble  wi'  the 
wimmin.  They  want  to  master  ye  !  If  ye  are  weel,  they 
drive  ye !  An'  if  ye  are  ill,  they  own  ye  !  Na,  —  na,  — 
lay  the  cloth,  —  an'  we  '11  hear  him  tell  his  name  an'  busi 
ness." 

This  suggestion  placed  Laroche  upon  his  guard,  but  being 
of  a  quick  and  keen  imagination  and  having  a  good  sense 
of  verisimilitude,  he  had  his  account  of  himself  ready  long 
before  he  was  called  upon  to  render  it.  In  fact  Jock  Lesly 
was  graciously  disposed  to  be  autobiographical  himself,  and 
in  the  course  of  his  prelection  was  explained  the  unusual 


82  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

presence  of  a  white  woman  in  these  regions  at  present ;  for 
the  Scotch  or  English  traders  did  not  risk  their  families 
here,  but  left  them  far  away  in  the  safe  precincts  of  the  small 
white  settlements  or  the  coast  towns.  His  daughter,  Jock 
Lesly  said,  had  heard,  —  and  who  could  not  hear  anything 
"  in  sic  a  wild,  ambiguous  country  "  (to  use  his  own  expres 
sion),  "  where  the  news  is  carried  by  wild  Injuns,  wha  lie,  it 
seems,  for  the  sheer  purpose  of  provin'  themsel's  the  chil 
dren  o'  the  deil,  wha  is  the  father  o'  lies  an'  liars,  —  an'  a 
monstrous  progeny  he  hae,  to  be  sure  !  —  a-weel,  the  lassie 
heard  that  her  father  —  an'  that 's  mysel'  an'  not  the  deil 

—  had  been  ta'en  doun  wi'  the  smallpox,  an'  the  bairn  was 
worrited  out  o'  her  life,  mair  especially  as  sae  mony  people 

—  thae  wild  Injuns  in  particular  —  were  deein'  wi'  the  dis 
temper,  havin'  nae  proper  sense  how  it  suld  be  treated.    An' 
sae  the  lassie  started  out  for  loco  Town,  —  not  that  I  hae  for 
given  Lilias  for  puttin'  hersel'  in  sic  a  danger,  forbye  makin' 
a  fule  o'  me,  as  weel  as  of  Callum  Macllvesty  also, —  though 
that 's  a  smaller  matter.     A-weel  —  Callum  heard  o'  her 
intention  an'  hired  a  wheen  o'  young  packmen  in  Charles- 
toun  —  they  being  mostly  idle  at  this  season,  —  he  ca's  'em 
1  gillies/  —  an'  started  out  with  her,  havin'  leave  o'  absence 
to  veesit  his  'Merican  relations,  Callum  bein*  a  far  awa' 
cousin,  —  my  mither  was  sibb  to  his  mither,  —  an'  he  over 
took  Lilias  as  she  was  about  to  come  alane  frae  Charles- 
toun  wi'  the  under-trader  an'  a  packman  or  twa,  an'  a  lot 
o'  dour  red  deils  of  Injuns  that  could  hae  scalpit  the  haill 
party,  gin  the  mind  had  ta'en  them.     An'  I  as  hearty  an' 
thrivin'  as  e'er  I  was  in  a'  my  life !  " 

He  paused  to  emphasize  the  incongruity. 

"  But,  lad,"  resumed  the  joyous  host,  "  a'  the  bairn's 
preparations  for  the  sick  that  she  fetched  wi'  her  on  the 
pack-horse  were  na  wasted  at  last,  —  for  the  Jeemes's  pow 
der  an'  the  pills  an'  the  lotions  an'  a'  thae  dinged  things  she 
meant  for  me  hae  a'  gane  into  your  inside,  man,  an'  the 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  83 

sheets  an'  the  curtains  an'  sic-like  were  nae  sooner  unpacked 
than  we  clappit  ye  intill  'em !  " 

"  An'  now  will  ye  no  tak  a  dish  o'  your  ain  chocolate  ?  " 
said  Lilias,  with  a  smile  curving  her  red  lips,  "  that  we 
fetched  a'  the  way  frae  Charlestoun  for  ye,  expressly, 
Mr.—" 

Her  father  remarked  her  hesitation. 

"Aye,"  he  exclaimed,  with  his  mouth  full  of  bread  and 
meat.  "  Gie  us  your  name,  sir,  —  Maister  —  what  ?  " 

"  Wilson,  —  Thomas  Wilson,"  replied  Laroche,  relying 
on  the  perfection  of  his  English.  But  albeit  an  excellent  lin 
guist,  he  rejoiced  in  the  discovery  of  their  nationality  as  an 
additional  pledge  of  safety,  realizing  that  his  English  would 
better  pass  muster  •since  they  themselves  spoke  the  language 
so  ill. 

"  A  proper  name,  —  Tarn  Wilson,  —  I  hae  known  a  score 
of  'em,"  said  Jock  Lesly,  setting  down  the  glass  in  which, 
following  the  old  fashion,  he  drank  something  far  stronger 
for  breakfast  than  tea.  He  interpolated  at  this  crisis  a  re 
monstrance  with  his  daughter  against  the  chocolate  as  a  for 
eign  kickshaw,  protesting  it  "  ower  flimsy  for  a  gude  British 
stamach  ;  "  but  the  foreigner  was  secretly  truly  grateful  for 
her  persistence,  for  with  the  rising  yet  squeamish  appetite 
of  a  convalescent,  he  doubted  his  capacity,  even  in  the  inter 
ests  of  his  disguise,  to  forego  the  chocolate  in  favor  of  the 
ale  and  brandy  with  which  the  two  Scotchmen  moistened 
the  meal. 

"  An'  whaur  do  ye  hail  frae  ?  "  Jock  Lesly  asked. 

The  question  was  sufficiently  difficult  of  reply.  Louisi 
ana  or  the  Illinois,  in  the  French  occupation,  was  obviously 
out  of  the  question.  Yet  should  the  guest  say  Georgia  or 
South  Carolina,  he  might  be  exposed  to  conversation  touch 
ing  localities  familiar  to  them  which  he  did  not  know :  peo 
ple  —  citizens,  as  well  as  officials  —  with  whom  he  must 
needs  seem  acquainted  as  were  they ;  the  names  of  ships  or 


84  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

rivers  or  towns,  all  necessarily  household  words  to  one  of 
the  more  southern  provinces,  yet  of  which  he  was  densely 
ignorant. 

"  Virginia,"  he  said  at  a  venture,  "  about  Williamsburg." 

To  his  consternation  Jock  Lesly  laid  down  his  knife  and 
fork,  and  he  knew  instinctively  it  was  no  slight  matter  that 
could  check  their  activity.  But  for  the  fictitious  glow  that 
the  hot  chocolate  had  set  up  in  his  veins  he  might  have  suc 
cumbed  to  a  rigor  that  had  no  relation  to  the  vicissitudes  of 
his  disease. 

"Now  I  hope  ye  are  nane  o'  thae  Firginians7  that  latterly 
hae  been  tampering  wi'  our  Injuns,  an'  invitin'  'em  to  come 
for  their  goods  to  Firginia,  an'  seekin'  to  coup  our  trade 
out  o'  our  ain  hands.  Hae  ye  seen  Governor  Bull's  letter 
—  Lieutenant-Governor  Bull  o'  South  Carolina  —  Governor 
Bull's  ain  letter  to  the  governor  o'  Firginia,  man  ?  " 

It  was  well  for  Laroche  that  his  cadaverous  aspect,  as  he 
lay  in  bed,  propped  by  pillows  into  a  half  sitting  posture, 
his  face  almost  as  ghastly  white  as  the  voluminous  folds  of 
the  night-rail  —  the  scarlet  flannel  nightcap,  with  its  gay 
and  flaunting  tassel  accentuating  his  pallor  —  was  ascribed 
altogether  to  the  effects  of  illness.  Much  of  it  was  doubt 
less  due  to  his  perturbation  of  mind  and  the  conscious  jeop 
ardy  of  his  position,  although  he  managed  to  hold  with  a 
steady  hand  the  cup  containing  his  chocolate  and  to  main 
tain  a  quiet,  interrogative  gaze  as  his  eyes  met  the  Scotch 
man's  eager  blue  orbs,  and  he  replied  succinctly,  but  defi 
nitely,  in  the  negative. 

"  A-weel,  man,"  said  Jock  Lesly,  the  importance  of  the 
subject  precluding  the  resumption  of  his  knife  and  fork, 
"Governor  Bull  did  set  forth  and  make  known  unto  the 
Governor  of  Firginia  that  we  of  the  king's  province  o9 
South  Carolina  had  suffered  much  in  the  auld  Proprietary 
days  with  thae  bloody  loons  o'  Injuns,  an'  had  warked  wi' 
'em  an'  wrastled  sair  wi'  'em,  an'  had  made  unco  gude 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  85 

friends  wi'  several  strong  tribes  on  our  borders,  —  Creeks, 
Chickasaws,  an'  mair  especially  the  Cherokees,  till  this  late 
war,  —  all  through  the  privileeges  o'  the  trade  we  had  wi' 
them  an'  the  restrictions  an'  facilities  of  the  licensed  traders 
the  government  establishes  an'  mainteens  amang  them,  to 
furnish  them  wi'  a'  their  needcessities,  an'  powder  an'  lead 

—  a  deal  mair  than  is  gude  for  them  !  An'  if  Firginia  draws 
aff  this  trade  frae  these  distant  tribes,  for  the  sake  o'  the 
bit  profit  to  be  had  frae  it,  Georgia  an'  South  Carolina  hae 
nae  means  o'  keepin'  thae  blackguards  o'  Injuns  in  order 
close  on  our  settlements,  whilk  will  be  left  to  their  mercies. 
Governor  Glen  said  the  same  years  ago." 

He  paused  with  earnest,  convincing  eyes,  while  the  guest 
held  his  cup  motionless  and  listened. 

"  Cain  in  the  old  days  jaloosed  his  brother  an'  for  rivalry 
killed  him,  but  I  'se  warrant  even  he  wad  na  hae  sold  him 
fur  a  shillin'.  It  's  later  times  hae  taught  us  better  — 
or  waur ! '' 

"My  dear  sir,"  exclaimed  Tarn  Wilson,  "you  may  rest 
assured  that  I  am  seeking  no  Indian  trade  for  Virginia." 

Jock  Lesly  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief. 

"  A-weel,"  he  said,  easily  placated,  "  the  Governor  of 
Firginia  answered  and  promised  to  let  the  Injun  trade  be  as 
it  was  built.  He  had  na  seen  the  matter  in  sic  a  serious 
light,  he  said.  No  man  could  speak  fairer.  But  I  thought 

—  I  dooted  —  leastwise  —  hegh,  man,  what  errand  did  bring 
you  then  to  Great  Tellico  ?  " 

"  A  matter  of  business,"  said  the  French  officer  quickly. 
"  Some  of  the  Cherokees  sold  a  lot  of  horses  to  our  neigh 
borhood  near  a  year  ago,  and  this  spring  most  of  them  dis 
appeared.  It  is  said  always  that  horses  bred  in  the  Indian 
country  go  back  yearly  to  their  old  grass." 

Jock  Lesly  nodded  his  head  in  confirmation,  his  mouth 
again  full,  knife  and  fork  plying. 

"  Is  it  true  ?  —  I  dpubted  it.     But  I  came  with  some 


86  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

neighbors  as  far  as  Tellico.  I  fell  ill  at  Tellico,  —  and  I 
remember  no  more." 

"They  went  off  and  left  you!"  exclaimed  the  young 
Highlander,  with  a  touch  of  indignation. 

"Wow,  man,  —  what  fearsome  looking  worriecows  be 
thae  medicine-men,  —  thae  cheerataghe  !  But  Moy  Toy 
was  kind  and  helpful,  though  fine  he  liked  to  get  rid  of  ye ! 
That  was  what  made  me  jaloose  that  mebbe  you  were  med- 
dlin7  wi?  the  trade."  Lesly  recurred  to  the  subject. 

"  How  do  thae  Injuns  come  by  sic  prodigious  fine  horses  ?  " 
demanded  Callum  Macllvesty,  effecting  a  diversion  with 
more  delicate  tact  than  might  have  been  anticipated  from 
his  lowly  station  and  coarse  garb  as  a  common  soldier.  La- 
roche  began  to  understand  that  the  Highlander,  despite  his 
position  and  rude  dialect,  was  of  a  higher  social  grade  in  his 
own  country  than  these  compatriots  of  his,  and  that  their 
"  far  awa  "  connection  with  his  family  was  a  source  of  pride 
to  them,  albeit  the  relation  of  wooer  and  wooed  had  com 
passed  a  certain  reversal  of  the  natural  order  of  precedence. 
It  occurred  to  his  quick  mind  immediately  that  one  of  the 
many  individual  disasters  involved  in  the  national  calamities 
of  the  Scotch  rebellions  of  1715  and  1745  was  represented 
in  the  impoverishment  and  exile  of  this  scion  of  a  family  of 
degree,  perhaps  even  of  high  birth,  for  the  young  man  used 
their  vernacular  evidently  by  reason  of  association  and  lack 
of  education  rather  than  station.  He  had  sundry  unmis 
takable  marks  of  a  highly  bred  gentleman,  despite  his  evi 
dent  poverty.  Laroche  knew  that  certain  such,  serving  as 
soldiers  of  fortune,  held  commissions  in  the  foreign  armies 
of  Europe,  while  a  few  others,  more  destitute  of  money  and 
influence,  could  be  found  as  "  private  men "  in  those  High 
land  regiments  recruited  by  the  British  government  for 
service  in  America  against  the  French  and  Indians,  and 
officered  in  several  instances,  strangely  enough,  by  men 
who  had  recently  themselves  been  arrayed  in  arms  against 
the  dynasty  they  now  supported. 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWEK  87 

"  Their  horses  come  frae  the  Spanish  barbs  that  Be  Soty 
an7  his  men  left  amang  them  —  an'  I  wuss  we  had  naething 
waur  frae  the  dooms  meddlin'  Spanish  than  their  cattle.  Lord, 
sir,  the  lies  they  tell  the  puir  Injuns !  —  that  the  British 
are  determinate  to  sweep  them  aff  the  face  o'  the  warld !  " 

"  The  Spaniards  are  na  sae  kittle  as  the  French,"  said 
Callum  Macllvesty. 

"  The  French,"  rejoined  Jock  Lesly,  bringing  his  clenched 
fist  down  on  the  table,  —  "the  French  are  the  deevil !  Did 
ye  notice,  lad,  how  mony  o'  the  Cherokees  can  speak  a  little 
French,  —  nae  mair  than  a  '  polly  voo  '  or  sic  like,  —  but 
sae  mony  ! " 

Laroche  was  conscious  and  out  of  countenance.  So  weak 
he  was  he  could  ill  resist  the  strain  of  anxiety.  "I  did 
not  notice  —  I  was  there  at  Tellico  so  short  a  time  —  what 
am  I  saying  ?  —  I  do  not  know  how  long  I  was  there  nor 
how  you  happened  to  find  me  ! "  But  he  could  not  divert 
his  host  from  the  subject. 

"  As  sure  as  you  are  an  unsanctified  sinner  thae  gabbling, 
Louisiana  French  bodies  hae  been  again  meddlin'  wi'  the 
Cherokees  an'  their  trade,"  declared  Lesly  solemnly.  "Moy 
Toy  was  too  polite  by  half,  —  onything  to  be  rid  o'  me,  — 
dry-scratchin'  the  weans  that  kilt  my  sheep  till  their  screech- 
ings  wad  hae  melted  a  heart  o'  stane !  An7  when  I  begged 
him  to  let  me  ha'  the  loan  o'  ye  for  a  while,  he  happed  ye 
in  a'  his  fine  furs.  I  had  to  be  gey  carefu'  in  returnin' 
them  a'." 

So  they  were  within  reach  of  Moy  Toy  and  the  town  of 
Great  Tellico  by  an  hour's  travel,  perhaps,  or  two.  La 
roche  felt  his  heart  sink.  He  had  not  counted  on  this 
possibility  nor  on  the  capacity  of  the  Indians  to  keep  his 
secret.  Nay,  so  capricious  was  the  temper  of  the  Chero 
kees  that  he  could  not  be  sure  of  their  will  to  conceal  the 
fact  of  his  nationality  and  his  connection  with  the  Franco- 
Choctaw  embassy.  Even  his  own  mission,  the  confidential 


88  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

and  private  assurances  of  the  French  government  which  he 
had  conveyed  to  Great  Tellico,  might  now  be  maliciously 
divulged  as  a  means  of  currying  favor  with  the  British, 
—  since  the  utility  of  the  promises  he  had  made  seemed  a 
thing  of  the  past  and  the  prospect  which  they  had  presented 
had  faded  like  a  mirage  into  thin  air.  His  face,  with  these 
thoughts  in  his  mind,  showed  so  sharp  a  change  that  Lilias, 
alarmed,  rose  with  a  protest.  Even  Jock  Lesly  permitted 
himself  to  be  convinced  that  the  session  of  breakfast  should 
not  be  unduly  prolonged,  and  Callum  Macllvesty  shook  up 
the  pillows  and  drew  the  curtains,  and  the  Frenchman  sank 
down  in  silence  —  not  to  sleep,  he  stipulated  within  him 
self,  but  to  ponder,  to  devise,  to  plot. 

He  slept  unaware,  unadvisedly,  peacefully  as  a  three 
years'  child.  And  he  dreamed  placidly  and  in  satisfaction. 
Moy  Toy  came  and  drew  the  curtains,  he  thought,  and 
looked  at  him  with  keen  and  friendly  eyes,  and  with  a  sig 
nificant  finger  on  his  lips.  When  he  woke  at  length,  so 
far  had  the  bodily  man  got  the  better  of  the  intellectual 
entity  which  led  together  a  dual  existence  that  he  felt  scant 
care  for  aught,  —  his  detention,  the  French  interest,  Moy 
Toy's  possible  disclosures,  —  if  but  he  had  a  sup  of  that 
mutton  broth,  the  enticing  odors  of  which  permeated  the 
whole  house.  As  he  himself,  with  his  thin  hand,  pulled 
aside  the  curtain  that  he  might  call  to  Callum  Macllvesty 
to  beseech  a  share  in  that  delectable  burden  of  the  family 
board,  he  burnt  his  wasted  fingers  against  the  hot  bowl 
which  Lilias  was  in  the  act  of  bringing  to  the  bedside,  and 
he  hardly  could  wait  to  join  in  the  laugh  which  the  two 
Scotchmen  set  up  in  triumph  on  the  recovery  of  his  appetite. 

If  it  could  make  them  happy  to  see  another  man  eat,  he 
ministered  lavishly  to  their  felicity  in  the  days  that  ensued. 

At  first  he  was  unsteady  enough  on  his  feet  when  he 
was  permitted  to  quit  the  haven  of  the  bed.  He  could 
only  make  short  voyages,  as  it  were,  from  one  chair  to  an- 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  89 

other,  catching  at  everything  that  came  in  his  way  for  sup 
port.  But  although  of  no  great  strength  or  stature  he  was 
of  a  good,  compact  physique,  and  once  "  on  the  mend,"  as 
Jock  Lesly  expressed  it,  he  progressed  rapidly.  He  de 
veloped  to  his  surprise  a  sort  of  luxurious  inertia  ;  he  would 
fall  asleep  after  dinner  on  the  shady  porch,  his  head  against 
the  doorpost.  Naught  in  loco  Town  was  so  lazy  save  an 
old  collie  sleeping  at  his  feet  in  the  sun.  His  inaction  ex 
tended  to  his  mental  processes,  —  he  revolted  from  thought. 
He  would  not  address  himself  to  consider  his  plight,  his 
jeopardy,  the  future  of  his  mission.  In  fact  all  his  facul 
ties  were  instinctively  quiescent,  facilitating  recovery.  He 
felt  even  that  he  had  joyfully  dispensed  with  his  old  trou 
blous  identity.  As  Tarn  Wilson  he  was  a  new  man,  with 
no  plans,  no  past,  no  obligations,  no  imperative  military 
duty.  The  pioneer  garb  of  buckskin,  with  its  many  fringes 
and  leather  belt  and  coonskin  cap,  that  he  was  constrained 
to  wear  aided  his  release  from  himself.  It  was  like  being 
in  some  new  world,  this  freedom  of  the  ways  of  the  house 
hold,  this  transition  into  the  identity  of  a  man  who  had 
no  past,  no  secrets,  no  duties,  no  future.  A  joyous,  kindly 
fellow  he  was,  too,  and  all  who  looked  on  him  liked  him. 

"  This  is  what  I  should  have  been,  uninfluenced,  unhin 
dered  ;  Tarn  Wilson  is  really  I,  —  unhampered  by  circum 
stance,"  he  said  to  himself. 

His  haunts  were  chiefly  about  the  dwelling,  which  was 
situated  near  the  trading-house  and  in  the  very  centre  of 
the  Indian  town.  The  traders  —  of  whom  there  had  been 
but  very  few  in  the  whole  region,  each  always  in  great  isola 
tion,  none  of  whom  had  now  returned  except  Jock  Lesly  — 
were  allowed  by  the  Indian  municipal  authorities,  so  to 
speak,  the  "  second  men,"  the  choice  of  erecting  dwellings 
at  a  little  distance  from  the  towns  or  in  their  midst,  if  this 
were  deemed  to  conduce  to  the  greater  safety  of  the  white 
inmates  of  the  house,  thus  under  the  immediate  protection. 


90  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

of  the  headmen  of  the  village,  for  whose  behoof  the  trader 
was  licensed.  The  Indians  being  often  at  war  with  other 
tribes,  especially  the  northern  savages,  this  method  of  hover 
ing  under  the  wing  of  the  Cherokee  strength,  both  civil  and 
martial,  commended  itself  to  the  prudence  of  the  trading 
folk.  But  the  aspect  of  the  little  Scotch  home,  with  all 
its  suggestions  of  exile,  devoid  of  a  loophole  within  or  a 
palisade  outside,  with  no  defense  save  the  uncertain  faith 
of  the  red  savages  who  swarmed  through  the  surrounding 
village,  was  pathetic  in  its  isolation,  its  unique  dissimilar 
ity,  its  effect  of  captivity. 

A  vine,  only  a  trumpet  vine,  hung  luxuriant  over  the 
eaves  and  sent  tendrils  astir  above  the  lintels  of  doors  and 
windows.  Shining  pans  were  suspended  to  take  the  air  and 
the  sun  against  the  posts  of  the  porch.  Piggins,  crocks  — 
blue,  brown,  and  yellow  —  ranged  themselves  in  vaunting 
cleanliness  on  a  window  shelf  outside  the  sill.  Motherly 
hens  pecked  about  the  steps,  and  a  coop  of  slats,  built  in 
the  form  of  a  peak,  restrained  the  activities  of  one  who 
might  have  led  too  far  a  brood  of  the  newly  hatched,  mere 
balls  of  fluffy  brown  and  yellow  down,  endowed  with  mo 
tion,  that  flickered  in  and  out  of  the  crevices.  Often  in 
her  gray-green  dress  the  golden  haired  Lilias  sat  here  at 
her  homely  flax  wheel,  while  in  the  "  beloved  square  "  a 
company  of  braves  were  marshaling  for  a  northern  expedi 
tion  against  the  Shawnees,  singing  their  war-songs,  painted 
for  the  war-path,  the  fullest  expression  of  the  terrible  upon 
which  the  eye  might  rest.  Sometimes  there  would  be  races 
or  exhibitions  of  strength  in  the  game  of  "  ball  play,"  when 
hundreds  would  assemble  from  other  towns  to  witness 
these  diversions.  The  visitors,  lured  by  the  report  of 
something  uncommon  at  the  trader's  dwelling,  would  come 
after  the  more  exciting  events  of  the  day  and  stand  outside 
and  gaze  upon  her  with  insatiable  curiosity.  They  would 
watch  the  revolutions  of  the  whirling  wheel  and  the  flying 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  91 

thread.  Her  deft  white  hand,  her  unfamiliar,  smiling  face, 
her  strange,  golden  hair  were  all  points  of  interest.  They 
would  listen  to  the  whir  of  the  spinning  and  the  vague 
sound  of  her  voice,  as  she  hummed  low  a  weird  old  song 
which  she  often  sang  about  a  "  gyre-carline  "  and  her  witch- 
like  doings  of  "  lang  syne."  The  men  expressed  no  sur 
prise,  it  being  a  point  of  honor  with  the  Indians  to  have 
known  all  things  always.  They  would  invariably  turn 
away  without  a  word  or  a  sign.  Not  so  the  women  !  The 
fashion  of  attire  it  was  that  served  in  an  instant  to  dena 
tionalize  them.  From  silent  amazement  they  passed  to 
whispered  comments  as  they  stood  in  buzzing  groups ;  then 
to  open  questions ;  to  shrill  exclamations ;  to  an  unman 
nerly  yet  kindly  frenzy  of  inquisitiveness.  Sometimes  a 
girl  would  step  gingerly  forward,  touch  the  slipper  and  the 
stocking  on  the  slender  foot,  —  then  fall  back  with  a  hys 
terical  twitter  of  mingled  delight  and  ridicule.  The  vaga 
ries  of  the  mode,  as  it  was  understood  in  Charlestown,  the 
fashion  of  the  white  kerchief  about  the  shoulders  of  Lilias, 
the  pleated  folds  of  her  dress,  were  of  endless  interest  to 
the  young  Cherokee  coquettes,  and  kept  them  grouped  long 
about  the  porch,  and  Lilias's  pink  and  white  dimples  con 
tinually  playing  in  her  cheek. 

Somehow  this  curiosity  concerning  her  was  displeasing 
to  Laroche.  He  wished  Lilias  were  at  home  in  Carolina. 
This  was  no  place  for  the  rooftree  and  the  ingleside.  He 
always  distrusted  the  savages'  protestations  of  peace  and 
professions  of  friendship.  He  was  happier  when  they  were 
all  gone  and  the  little  spinning  wheel  with  its  tuft  of  flax 
stood  close  by  the  window  in  the  "  spence,"  as  the  Scotch 
household  called  the  living-room.  There  the  puncheon 
benches  and  the  "  creepies,"  as  the  stools  of  blocks  of  wood 
were  dignified,  had  a  gossiping  way  of  clustering  around 
the  hearth  of  flagstones,  where  an  ember  was  always  kept 
alive  in  the  great  chimney  place,  being  renewed  night  and 


92  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

morning,  as  a  fire  was  deemed  salutary  for  the  invalid.  Its 
glamour  held  gay  Tarn  Wilson  loitering  there  as  long  as  the 
little  wheel  whirled  and  the  green  shadows  of  the  newly 
leaved  trees  without  flickered  across  the  sunshine  of  her 
hair.  Sometimes  her  knitting  needles  clicked  and  shim 
mered  in  the  firelight.  Sometimes  she  compounded  and 
stirred  with  a  long  spoon  and  a  burning  red  cheek  the  con 
tents  of  saucepans  for  his  behoof,  then  laughed  with  frolic 
some  scoffing"  at  the  celerity  with  which  he  disposed  of 
them.  He  aiiv*  the  two  Scotchmen  exchanged  experiences 
and  argued  on  political  or  religious  themes,  and  throughout 
Tarn  Wilson  supported  his  character  with  a  verisimilitude 
that  would  have  won  him  credit  in  the  histrionic  profession, 
and  like  the  others  took  in  good  part  the  trenchant  remarks 
having  a  personal  application  with  which  she  saw  fit  to  com 
ment.  He  fell  into  the  habit  of  holding  the  skeins  of 
yarn  while  she  wound  the  thread  for  her  knitting.  So 
adroit  and  persistent  was  he  in  thrusting  himself  forward 
for  this  duty  that  he  almost  supplanted  the  young  High 
lander  whose  coveted  boon  it  had  been.  Indeed  Callum 
Macllvesty  openly  sulked,  taking  no  blame  that  he  was 
the  slower  or  the  more  inexpert  swain  of  the  two  in 
the  proffer  of  assistance.  And  so  far  had  the  identity  of 
Tarn  Wilson  submerged  that  of  the  diplomat,  the  soldier, 
the  ambassador,  that  he  felt  a  great  and  irrelevant  joy  in 
the  sight  of  the  young  Highlander,  thrown  back  on  the 
opposite  settle,  each  arm  extended  at  full  length  along  its 
back,  his  eyes  fixed  dully,  blankly,  on  the  rafters,  that  he 
might  meet  no  glance  of  Lilias  to  win  him  from  his  just 
displeasure,  his  long,  muscular  legs  stretched  out  to  the 
fire,  his  plaid,  his  sporran,,  his  belt,  his  kilt,  —  mentally 
designated  "  ses  jupons  "  by  Laroche,  —  all  in  unpictur- 
esque  and  careless  disarray.  So  painful  to  Callum  was  the 
spectacle  of  the  dual  industry  that  one  day,  unable  to  endure 
it  longer,  he  sprang  up  to  leave  the  house,  encountering 
Jock  Lesly  at  the  door,  where  his  horse  stood  saddled. 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  93 

"Are  ye  gaen  aff  enow?"  he  interrogated  Callum.  "I 
am  na  willin'  to  leave  the  house  wi?  Lilias." 

"  Oh,  Tarn  is  there,"  replied  Callum  impatiently.  "  An' 
I  am  na  goin'  further  than  the  spring,"  —  which  was  scarcely 
ten  steps  from  the  door. 

"  Sae  lang  as  there  's  twa  men  about,"  said  her  father, 
and  he  rode  off  on  his  errand. 

But  Lilias  had  overheard  Callum's  first  phrase  and  no 
more,  and  Tarn  Wilson's  quick  ears  were  ha^ly  less  alert. 
Her  face  turned  crimson.  The  young  Scotsman  had  won 
much  sincere  gratitude  and  a  very  tender  appreciation  of 
his  interest  in  her  by  his  instant  expedition  to  join  her  in 
her  journey  hither  to  her  father's  rescue  from  the  small 
pox,  a  disease  then  so  dreaded,  his  adequate,  thoughtful 
measures  for  her  safety  and  protection,  and  yet  the  swift 
forwarding  of  the  succor  she  brought.  Odd  that  a  thought 
less  phrase  could  work  such  wreck  !  It  was  but  a  fancy, 
a  freak  that  had  taken  him,  she  said  to  herself.  She  had 
thought  too  much  of  it,  rated  its  significance  too  high.  As 
for  the  distance,  the  danger,  the  fatigue  —  were  the  men 
not  all  and  always  louping  hither  and  thither  through  this 
wild  country,  like  the  ranting,  gangrel  chiels  they  were, 
where  five  hundred  miles  seemed  a  less  journey  to  them 
than  fifty  at  hame  in  the  gude  po'  shay.  He  came  wi'  her 
because  he  maun  aye  be  ganging  —  and  now  he  was  content 
to  commend  her  to  the  protection  o'  Tarn  Wilson.  She  wad 
na  gainsay  him.  She  was  not  seeking  Callum  Macllvesty 
or  his  help,  good  sooth !  Tarn  Wilson  was  a  welcome 
substitute  for  his  presence  and  guard. 

She  held  her  head  high  and  proud  on  her  delicate,  white 
neck.  Her  eyes,  half  cast  down  on  the  skeins  as  she  dis 
entangled  the  thread,  glowed  and  flashed,  and  Tain  Wilson, 
the  personification  of  demure  mischief,  gazed  discerningly 
at  close  quarters  at  them.  Her  sensitiveness  was  the  keener 
for  the  fact  that  Callum  on  his  father's  side,  the  Macllvestys, 


94  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

was  kin  to  "  gret  folk,'7  and  the  relationship  of  Jock  Lesly 
and  his  daughter  to  the  young  Highlander's  mother  was  so 
distant  as  to  baffle  any  ordinary  computation,  despite  their 
pride  in  the  fact  and  its  frequent  mention.  At  that  time 
in  the  colonies  women  were  few  and  much  in  the  ascend 
ant,  and  Lilias  Lesly  felt  all  the  importance  of  her  position 
and  the  strength  of  her  power  to  make  Callum  rue  the 
slight  if  he  really  cared  aught  for  her,  and  to  show  him 
her  own  indifference  if  he  cared  naught. 

Tarn  Wilson,  in  his  idleness,  his  enforced  inactivity,  had 
developed  a  domestic  proclivity.  He  was  seldom  out  of  the 
house,  and  as  the  days  wore  on  the  desire  to  go  vanished.  He 
was  promoted  to  many  domestic  duties.  He  was  permitted 
to  stem  the  wild  strawberries  that  graced  the  evening  meal, 
and  felt  a  stealthy  joy  to  be  berated  that  he  should  be  so 
slow,  and  to  be  accused  of  taking  toll  of  the  fruit  too  heart 
ily  to  solace  his  labor.  It  was  he  who  went  back  and  forth 
in  pride  to  the  spring  with  the  pail,  who  was  set  to  guard 
the  bannocks  that  they  did  not  burn,  and  when  all  was  done 
who  lounged  on  the  settle  and  idly  watched  her  smilingly 
lay  the  cloth  that  he  might  dine.  It  was  he  who  beguiled 
the  tedium  of  the  sudden  storms  in  the  spring  evenings  when 
the  clouds  shut  out  the  stars  and  the  door  shut  out  the  mists 
and  the  roof  rang  with  the  marshaling  of  the  hosts  of  the 
rain  and  the  wind  sang  like  a  trump.  Then  Tarn  Wilson 
would  stir  the  fire  and  tell  wonderful  stories  and  sing  songs 
—  military  songs,  gay  clashes  of  the  cannikin,  and  stories 
of  the  camp  and  the  field,  showing  a  knowledge  so  intimate 
as  to  cause  the  lowering  Highlander  to  ask  suddenly  one 
night,  — 

"  Ye  hae  seen  service,  sir  ?  " 

"Aye,  sir,"  answered  Tarn  Wilson,  instantly  on  his  guard. 
"Foreign  service,  sir,  some  years  ago.  I  was  at  Hasten- 
beck  in  '57,  sir,  fighting  with  the  Duke  of  Cumberland." 

Which  was  true,  but  as  one  of  the  victorious  French,  and 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  95 

not,  as  the  phrase  implied,  among  the  defeated  allied  forces 
of  the  famous  English  commander. 

"  And  two  years  later,"  Tarn  Wilson  continued  with  less 
animation,  "  I  was  at  the  battle  of  Minden.  I  have  par 
ticipated  in  several  campaigns." 

Having  thus  unwittingly  enhanced  his  rival's  conse 
quence,  the  young  Highlander  asked  no  more,  but  fell  back 
to  lower  savagely  and  bite  his  lips,  as  perhaps  an  outward 
figure  of  how  he  was  eating  his  own  heart  within. 

But  it  was  the  glamour  of  the  clear  vernal  moon  that 
bewitched  the  unstable  Tarn  Wilson,  himself  with  as  many 
phases.  He  would  fall  suddenly  silent,  as  under  a  spell, 
when  its  rays  aslant,  just  discerned,  would  drop  down 
through  the  window  from  the  west,  where  it  hung  little  more 
than  a  crescent  in  a  pink  haze,  and  draw  the  outline  of  a 
leaf  of  a  chestnut  oak,  an  acorn  half  developed,  and  a  bare 
twig  upon  the  rugged  puncheon  floor  of  the  spence.  The 
girl's  fair  face  would  be  vague,  ethereal ;  her  hair  dimly 
a-glimmer ;  her  white  homespun  dress  of  linen  a  poetic  sug 
gestion  in  the  gloom ;  her  rich  voice  full  of  undreamed-of 
vibrations  that  he  could  study  with  a  quickened  perception 
lacking  in  the  bold  light  of  day.  The  ember  faded  to  ashes ; 
the  candles,  with  the  canny  Scotch  thrift,  were  not  lighted, 
since  the  moon  lent  a  torch ;  the  sense  of  home,  of  simple, 
domestic  habitudes,  was  in  abeyance  with  the  eclipse  of  the 
visible  exponents.  With  its  sights  and  sounds  annulled,  the 
abstract  interpretations  prevailed.  The  mind  rose  to  loftier 
conceits.  One  felt  the  forces  of  life  —  not  merely  living ; 
the  endowment  of  absolute  entity  —  not  sheer  individuality, 
with  its  limitations,  its  crippled  past,  its  doubtful,  hampered, 
anxious  future.  The  wind  stirred  the  foliage  without  and 
reminded  one  of  the  wilderness,  the  vastness  of  the  world 
that  was  made  for  man ;  the  spring  floods  of  the  Tennessee 
River  lifted  a  voice  into  the  air  and  thundered  primeval  truths. 

Through  this  window  they  could  see  the  mountains  —  far, 


96  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWEB 

near,  always  in  massive  majesty.  Now  a  pearly,  opalescent 
mist  would  glimmer  among  the  domes  with  the  witchery  of 
the  moon,  and  again  after  it  had  sunk  the  skies  would  be 
clear  and  densely  instarred.  Once  a  planet,  so  brilliant  as  to 
annul  all  lesser  glories,  showed  through  a  great  chasm,  whose 
rugged,  craggy  slopes  seemed  illuminated  in  the  surrounding 
gloom  with  a  weird,  unaccustomed  luster,  so  different  from 
the  familiar  light  of  the  moon  was  the  quality  of  the  radi 
ance  shed  by  a  star  alone.  Poetry  was  in  the  night  —  no 
lyric,  no  vague,  murmurous  rune,  but  with  a  splendid 
majesty  of  rhythm,  with  an  epic  grandeur  and  a  meaning  of 
awe  that  might  be  felt  by  the  pulses  of  the  heart  and  sug 
gested  to  the  brain  —  baffling  language,  never  to  be  set 
forth  in  the  paltry  medium  of  mere  words. 

In  differing  degrees  they  all  felt  its  influence,  perhaps. 
Jock  Lesly,  smoking  his  pipe  with  an  assiduity  which  he 
had  learned  from  the  Indians,  talked,  it  is  true,  but  casually, 
fragmentarily ;  and  Callum  heeded  enough  to  respond  in 
kind,  with  sedulous  care  for  the  respect  he  always  main 
tained  toward  his  host  and  far  awa'  kinsman,  but  often  the 
matter  and  manner  of  his  replies  showed  that  thought  and 
heart  were  not  in  them.  For  the  others  they  were  silent, 
save  now  and  again  at  long  intervals  a  murmur  of  assent 
or  negation,  —  a  dangerous  silence,  instinct  with  a  meaning 
no  words  might  adequately  interpret.  As  one  night  suc 
ceeded  another  and  the  moon  waxed  to  fuller  splendors 
and  all  the  woods  without  were  pervaded  with  that  magic 
sheen  which  showed  such  silvery  vistas  in  the  dark  umbra 
geous  forest,  which  idealized  the  aboriginal  architecture  of 
loco,  which  made  the  feathered  head  and  straight  form  of 
an  Indian  passing  now  and  again  adown  the  bosky  ways 
of  the  woodland  town  so  meet,  so  apt  an  incident  of  the 
picture,  even  the  Europeans  felt  an  irking  in  walls  and 
restraint  and  longed  for  the  freer  air,  a  moonlight  stroll,  to 
stand  unbonneted  beneath  the  zenith. 


A  SPECTRE  OF   POWER  97 

"  Eh  —  the  wearying  wa's  !  "  exclaimed  Lilias  one  even 
ing,  her  elbow  on  the  sill  of  the  window  and  the  moonlight 
in  her  upturned  eyes,  with  all  the  wistfulness  of  a  prisoner 
in  their  sweet  longing.  "  How  thae  flowers  scent  the  air !  " 

"  Whist  —  whist  —  bairn;  oh  fie!  Ye  maun  bide  here," 
said  her  father  in  gentle  reproof.  "The  moon  will  last  our 
time.  They'll  hae  the  moon  yet  in  the  lift  at  Charles- 
toun,  an7  gowans  to  pu',  I  'se  warrant,  by  the  time  we  get 
there." 

What  was  this  pang  in  Tarn  Wilson's  unmannerly  heart ! 
He  dared  not,  even  in  his  most  remote  consciousness, 
attribute  its  pain  to  the  French  officer,  the  Sieur  de  La- 
roche.  And  even  as  the  Virginia  drover  and  herdsman 
he  affected  to  be,  did  he  expect  Jock  Lesly  to  keep  his 
daughter  here  indefinitely  ?  He  was  almost  stunned  by 
the  discovery  of  the  sentimental  anguish  occasioned  him 
by  the  mere  idea  of  her  withdrawal  from  his  sight.  He 
wondered  now,  however,  since  his  mind  was  drawn  to  the 
subject,  that  as  the  object  of  her  wild-goose  chase  —  her 
father's  supposed  illness  —  was  removed  she  had  not  al 
ready  returned.  So  vital  an  interest  he  felt  that  he  was 
moved  to  steady  his  voice,  which  —  oh,  how  preposterously 
—  trembled  in  the  first  words,  to  ask  of  her  father  a  definite 
question  concerning  her  departure,  albeit  his  inquisitiveness 
in  his  host's  family  affairs  ill  accorded  with  his  position  as 
a  guest  laden  with  many  favors.  And  in  fact  the  query 
gave  rise  to  some  embarrassment. 

"  The  lassie  might  hae  gane  back  at  once,"  Jock  Lesly 
said,  "  but  "  —  taking  his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth  and  glan 
cing  cautiously  over  his  shoulder  at  the  dusky  room,  still  in 
the  brown  shadow,  although  the  light  of  the  moon  lay  in  a 
broad  silver  square  on  the  floor,  so  high  had  it  climbed  into 
the  sky  —  "  but "  —  evidently  he  hardly  dared  to  put  his 
prudence  into  words  ;  only  fragmentarily  he  explained  that 
Callum  and  he  had  agreed  that  it  would  be  injudicious  to 


98  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

suggest  the  idea  of  fear  or  flight  by  leaving  loco  earlier 
than  was  the  custom  every  spring.  The  Indians  — "  thae 
dour  deevils  "  —  so  delighted  in  the  terror  they  inspired  that 
they  could  scarcely  refrain  from  the  exercise  of  its  power. 
The  little  guard  could  be  easily  taken,  overcome  ;  and  mis 
chievous  malice,  originating  perhaps  with  the  mere  intention 
of  giving  them  a  fright,  might  with  the  realization  culmi 
nate  in  a  massacre.  The  journey  was  fraught  with  much 
peril  at  best.  The  Indians  always  requited  every  grudge 
with  the  utmost  rigor,  and  certainly  to  pass  by  those  black 
ened  charred  skeletons  of  towns  in  the  ashes  of  Grant's 
fires,  still  tenantless  for  the  lack  of  hands  to  rebuild  them, 
would  be  a  pertinent  reminder.  The  bones  of  cattle  and 
horses  were  bleaching  along  the  watercourses.  Other  and 
human  bones  were  even  yet  being  slowly  gathered  from  the 
debris  of  the  battlefields,  or  on  the  site  of  remote  hand-to- 
hand  conflicts,  and  identified  and  conveyed  to  the  town  of 
their  nativity,  till  one  was  forever  in  danger  of  stumbling 
on  communities  in  all  the  gloom  of  funeral  ceremonies  when 
no  death  was  recent  —  oh,  there  were  grudges  on  every  hand 
to  claim  requital,  and  the  Cherokees  never  considered  the 
identity  of  the  individual  who  had  wrought  disaster. 

Whereas,  Jock  Lesly  reasoned,  if  Lilias  remained  here 
until  the  usual  time  of  his  semiannual  pilgrimage  to 
Charlestown,  with  all  his  force  of  packmen  and  pack- 
horses,  laden  with  buckskins  for  the  exchange  of  British 
goods,  any  demonstration  on  the  pack-train  would  be  asso 
ciated  with  injury  to  the  trade,  the  interests  of  which  the 
Cherokees  were  always  solicitous  to  conserve ;  hence  it  was 
hardly  to  be  anticipated.  The  murder  of  an  unofficial 
party,  so  to  speak,  would  create  scant  stir ;  but  an  assault 
upon  the  pack-train  of  a  licensed  trader  in  his  semiannual 
passage  through  the  country  would  paralyze  the  trade  for 
years  to  come,  and  necessitate  investigation  and  retribution 
at  the  hands  of  the  government. 


A   SPECTEE   OF   POWER  99 

And  this  result,  the  paralysis  of  the  trade  and  the  disaf 
fection  of  the  Cherokees,  was  precisely  what  that  schem 
ing  Laroche  had  come  to  the  town  of  Great  Tellico  on  the 
Tennessee  River  in  the  earnest  hope  of  compassing  for 
the  French  interest.  Had  he  been  as  true  to  it  as  he  was 
accounted,  he  said  to  himself,  he  might  have  found  means  to 
promote  this  emprise  of  pursuit  and  capture  and  massacre. 
But  it  was  with  the  sentiments  that  properly  appertained 
to  Tarn  Wilson  that  he  perceived  the  wisdom  and  applauded 
the  prudence  of  the  proposed  course.  He  resented  that 
Callum  Macllvesty  should  have  aught  of  weight  in  these 
councils,  and  began  to  grudge  him,  with  all  a  lover's  nig 
gardliness,  the  poor  boon  of  having  been  her  escort  hither, 
and  the  torment  of  anxiety  Callum  must  have  experienced 
in  his  prayerful  care  in  planning  for  her  safety,  and  his  gen 
erous  courage,  prepared  to  spill  the  last  drop  of  his  blood 
in  her  defense. 

"  That 's  why  we  no  keep  the  door  open  after  dark,"  Cal 
lum  briskly  explained.  "  The  Injuns  are  used  to  seeing 
the  door  closed  in  winter,  an'  they  '11  no  wonder  we  hae 
only  the  window  open  now,  an'  dinna  gae  abroad." 

"  An'  that  's  why  lassie  Lilias  hings  here  at  the  window 
sill,  as  wishfu'  as  ony  hempie  ahint  the  bars  at  a  tolbooth," 
her  father  said,  reaching  out  his  hand  and  passing  it  over 
the  sheen  of  her  golden  hair.  "  I  'm  thinking,  Callum  lad, 
its  thae  lint-white  locks  —  the  bairn's  tow  head  —  that  aye 
gars  the  Injuns  stare.  Mind  how  auld  Moy  Toy  stretched 
his  big  black  een  ?  " 

"  Moy  Toy  ?  "  said  Laroche,  with  a  sudden  wrench  at  his 
heart.  He  felt  as  one  might,  long  ago  sold  to  the  devil, 
at  the  abrupt  reappearance  of  the  fiend.  "  When  was  he 
here  ?  " 

"  When  ye  were  ailin',  lad.  And  now  I  come  to  think 
of  it,  the  devil 's  no  sae  black  as  he  's  painted,  an'  forbye, 
no  sae  red." 


100  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

He  chuckled  as  he  placed  the  long  stem  of  his  pipe  in 
his  mouth  and  talked  on  languidly  as  he  drew  at  it.  "  The 
creatur  seemed  kindly,  an'  wearyin'  to  see  you." 

Tarn  Wilson  could  have  fallen  from  the  settle. 

"  An'  when  we  wad  na  let  him  at  ye  on  no  account  to 
speak  till  ye,  he  begged  he  might  hae  ae  look  at  ye,  an' 
when  he  drew  the  bed  curtains  and  he  had  just  a  gliff,  he 
was  satisfied,  an'  went  awa  cannily  enough." 

So  it  was  no  vision  that  Laroche  had  remembered  amidst 
the  disjointed  phantasmagoria  of  his  delirium.  In  terrible 
reality  this  red  savage,  with  whom  he  shared  the  hidden, 
subtle  scheme  of  the  French  government  against  the  Caro 
lina  colonies  and  trading  interests,  had  come  to  his  bedside 
and  sought  through  the  mists  of  his  wandering  percep 
tions  to  sign  to  him,  to  promise  silence,  to  counsel  secrecy. 
More  distinct  than  aught  else  of  the  images  of  his  fevered 
brain  had  been  the  presentment  of  that  feathered  head,  that 
many-lined,  keen-featured  face,  the  white  curtain  in  the 
firm  grasp,  the  intent,  warning  eye,  the  finger,  mysterious, 
menacing,  laid  upon  the  long,  flat,  compressed  lips.  More 
distinct  —  since  it  was  real. 

Alack !  of  what  avail  the  gay  snatches  of  a  soldier's 
song ;  the  tales  of  the  tented  field ;  the  kind,  sweet, 
homely  present  of  this  simple  cotter  life  ;  the  uplifting  awe 
of  nature  that  must  needs  follow  that  fine  sweeping  of  the 
horizon  line  of  mountain  crest  against  the  blue ;  the  breath 
of  the  aromatic  woodland  ;  the  mystery,  the  magic  of  the 
moon ;  the  sheen  of  the  girl's  golden  hair  —  Laroche  could 
not  escape  his  doom.  The  past  laid  imperative  hands  upon 
the  future.  The  reminder  of  Moy  Toy  left  him  the  realiza 
tion  that  there  was  no  choice.  Moy  Toy  had  come  —  he 
would  come  again,  bringing  cogent  influences  of  the  Franco- 
Cherokee  scheme,  the  political  promises,  the  actuality  of 
identity,  and  all  a  subordinate's  thraldom  to  the  will  of 
an  official  superior. 


MOY  TOY  came  indeed  the  next  day  and  laden  thus.  In 
fact  it  was  he  who  had  first  thought  of  the  design  of  falling 
on  the  trader's  pack-train  on  their  return  trip  to  Charlestown 
and  cutting  them  all  off.  Thus,  he  argued,  the  country 
would  be  rid  at  one  blow  of  the  trade,  —  for  the  others, 
here,  there,  everywhere,  would  never  return,  —  and  it  was 
the  trade,  the  paltry  bauble,  that  had  bought  the  Cherokees, 
scot  and  lot,  alienated  them  from  their  own  best  interest, 
threatened  them  with  vassalage  to  the  British,  and  with  na 
tional  annihilation.  The  vengeance  of  the  Carolina  author 
ities  would  scarcely  discriminate,  scarcely  even  seek  out  so 
elusive  a  prey  as  the  immediate  offenders  ;  frantic  and  furi 
ous  it  would  alight  like  a  bolt  from  heaven  on  whatever  lay 
within  its  orbit.  Thus  it  would  serve  to  unite  the  upper 
Cherokees,  the  Ottare  district,  and  the  Ay  rate  towns  in 
their  own  defense  —  the  doubting  must  needs  be  steadfast, 
the  weak-hearted  confident  and  strong,  the  politic  might 
scheme  only  from  ambush,  and  Atta-Kulla-Kulla  postpone 
his  strategic  talks  of  statecraft  till  the  council  once  more 
should  have  time  to  heed  his  plotting  and  counterplotting. 
Then  the  way  of  the  French  would  be  open.  Then  might 
its  skilled  officer  bring  the  great  guns  and  build  the  forts 
and  drive  forever  from  the  Cherokee  borders  this  perfidious 
foe  who  sought  to  enslave  a  free  people  by  goods  and  rum, 
at  ruinous  great  prices  and  tolls  of  trade. 

Despite  Laroche's  experience  of  the  inconsistencies  and 
contradictory  traits  of  the  Indian  character,  this  precipitancy 
surprised  him.  He  began  to  see  that  the  patience  with 


102  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

which  the  savages  were  credited,  their  long  waiting  and 
scheming  for  revenge,  the  illimitable  distances  they  tra 
versed  in  war,  the  innumerable  shifts  and  devices  they  prac 
ticed,  of  almost  inconceivable  ingenuity,  to  attain  their 
object  —  all  were  exerted  only  when  it  lay  beyond  their 
immediate  reach.  Once  within  the  possibilities,  and  the 
leap  to  seize  upon  it  was  like  a  panther's,  as  swift,  as 
bloodthirsty,  and  as  unreckoning.  For  the  Indians'  policy 
of  doubting  and  debating  was  only  when  impotence  held 
their  revenge  in  bounds.  Thus  it  was  that  their  hasty,  un 
guarded,  impulsive  seizing  upon  an  opportunity  of  massacre 
and  robbery  so  often  recoiled  upon  the  body  politic,  which 
suffered  as  a  whole  in  the  vengeance  of  the  colony,  the  with 
drawal  of  the  trade,  and  the  cutting  off  of  supplies  and  am 
munition,  for  the  murderous  enterprise  of  some  small  band. 
More  than  once  Moy  Toy  himself,  both  earlier  and  later, 
headed  a  party  of  these  independent  warriors,  for  whose 
deeds  the  Cherokee  nation  at  large  paid  the  reckoning. 

It  was  well  that  Laroche  had  the  futility  of  such  raids 
in  mind  to  point  the  moral  of  the  value  of  delay,  of  prepara 
tion,  of  acting  with  due  caution  for  the  attaining  of  per 
manent  effect.  Press  the  British  back  for  a  moment  —  that 
full-armed,  embittered,  more  powerful  still,  they  might  again 
overrun  the  Cherokee  country  !  And  thus  bring  to  naught 
the  plans  of  the  great  French  father  to  aid  and  abet  the 
throwing  off  of  this  heavy  yoke  —  all  these  plans  as  yet  in 
abeyance,  —  not  a  cargo  of  ammunition  en  route. 

"  I  care  naught  for  the  desertion  of  the  base  Mingo  Push- 
koosh ;  it  is  to  me  but  the  freak  of  a  peevish  child,  as  his 
very  name  implies,"  Laroche  declared.  "  The  Choctaws  are 
ever  loyal  to  the  French ;  the  Muscogees,  and  their  subordi 
nate  tribes,  all  are  in  amity,  all  preparing  for  the  great 
decisive  blow,  the  simultaneous  attack  that  shall  some  day 
drive  the  English  colonists  east  and  south  into  the  Atlantic 
ocean  and  the  Mexico  gulf.  But  the  moment  must  be  pro- 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  103 

pitious  —  the  occasion  ripe.  Time,  Moy  Toy,  time  is  the 
great  warrior.  Time  always  wins  the  long  fight." 

He  had  walked  out  with  the  Indian,  who  had  declined 
Jock  Lesly's  invitation  to  light  his  pipe  at  the  hearth  in 
the  spence,  this  being  unsanctified  fire,  kindled  by  no  cheera- 
taghe,  and  had  repaired  to  the  fire  always  alight  in  the 
centre  of  the  "beloved  square,"  annually  kindled  by  the 
men  of  the  divine  fire,  distributed  amongst  the  dwellings, 
and  never  suffered  to  die  out  till  the  last  day  of  the  old 
year.  The  necessity  had  occurred  to  neither  of  the  two 
men  as  a  subterfuge,  but  both  eagerly  embraced  the  oppor 
tunity  that  they  might  speak  apart  —  Moy  Toy  to  commu 
nicate  his  scheme,  and  Laroche  to  contend  with  it. 

The  spot  was  solitary  at  the  moment.  B/ain  was  threat 
ening  ;  a  great  slate-tinted  cloud  hung  above  the  darkly 
green  mountains  in  tantalizing  suspension,  seeming  weighted 
and  surcharged  with  water  above  the  drought-smitten  corn 
fields.  Day  after  day  they  waved  with  the  delicate,  newly 
sprouting  blades,  rustling  and  lisping  in  the  capricious 
breaths  of  the  wind,  but  showing  a  far-spread  yellow  tint 
beneath  murky,  purple  glooms.  Day  after  day  the  im 
pending  storm  passed  ;  the  lightning  that  had  rent  the 
heavens  with  a  stroke  like  a  flashing  blade,  and  a  thunder 
ous  crash  as  of  the  rivings  of  a  world  asunder,  subsided  to 
an  aimless  flicker  with  a  vague  and  distant  rumble.  The 
purple-black  clouds  of  weighted  portent  would  grow  of  lilac 
hue,  and  presently  one  might  see  the  tint  of  the  blue  sky 
through  the  fleecy  dispersal  of  their  folds.  The  wind 
rushed  down  from  the  mountains  ;  the  sun  shone  out ;  the 
cornfields  lay  parched  and  sere ;  and  the  heart  of  a  farmer 
of  that  day  and  generation  differed  in  nowise  from  one  of 
the  present,  albeit  more  than  a  century  apart  in  time  and 
of  an  alien  race.  Fortunately  the  laws  now  are  kinder,  and 
the  weather  prophets  are  fended  from  the  wrath  of  him  who 
plants  and  does  not  gather,  who  sows  and  does  not  reap, 


104  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

because  of  the  rain  that  is  vainly  promised  and  the  thunder- 
head  that  deludes  and  deceives.  The  cheerataghe  of  loco 
Town  were  playing  in  very  hard  luck.  The  luring  of  that 
particular  storm  down  upon  these  fertile  fields  along  the 
Tennessee  River  devolved  immediately  upon  them,  and  al 
though  the  tribesmen  were  assured  that  the  failure  was  to 
be  attributed  to  the  wickedness  of  their  own  hearts  and 
their  frequent  misdoings,  a  farmer  at  odds  with  the  weather 
is  the  least  amiable  of  the  brute  creation,  and  there  was  an 
unmistakable  tendency  to  retort  the  fault  upon  the  lack  of 
skill  of  the  cheerataghe. 

Moy  Toy  cast  a  glance  of  indifferent  interest  at  the  group 
at  the  further  side  of  the  square  (recent  rains  had  fallen 
at  Tellico,  long,  soft,  satisfying  —  what  is  now  known  as 
a  "season"),  where  the  cheerataghe  of  loco  were  plying 
their  invocations  and  spells,  surrounded  by  a  number  of  the 
agricultural  sufferers  and  several  of  the  second  men ;  their 
plumed  heads  and  scantily  covered,  copper-tinted  bodies  were 
all  distinct  in  the  weird,  dun  light  under  the  purple  cloud, 
and  against  the  white  and  gray  fleckings  of  the  tortuous 
river,  and  the  pallid  expanse  of  the  wilting  corn.  No  one 
was  alert  to  listen  to  what  might  pass  between  Moy  Toy 
and  the  foreign  white  man.  What  would  a  drought-harassed 
farmer  of  that  region  to-day  care  for  issues  of  diplomacy 
if  he  fancied  he  had  a  chance  of  working  a  charm  on  the 
weather ! 

"Will  there  be  enough  of  the  powder?"  Moy  Toy 
asked  tentatively.  His  experience  was  limited,  but  he 
knew  enough  of  the  world  to  be  aware  of  the  folly  of  ex 
changing  a  small  certainty  for  a  large  possibility  —  a  small 
massacre  for  a  large  war  of  doubtful  outcome. 

"Powder !  "  exclaimed  the  soldier  with  a  scornful  laugh. 
"  I  can  teach  you  to  make  powder  !  The  country  is  full  of 
the  materials  for  its  manufacture." 

With  the  keen  observation  of  the  scientist  and  the  alertness 


A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER  105 

of  a  schemer  to  turn  every  incident  to  account,  he  had  taken 
note  in  his  short  stay  of  the  nitrous  caves  of  the  country,  of 
its  resources  for  sulphur,  of  the  infinite  growths  of  dogwood 
and  of  willows  along  the  streams  to  furnish  the  requisite 
grade  of  charcoal.  In  later  wars  these  yielded  their  benefits 
to  discerning  labor,  but  even  so  early  Laroche  fully  appre 
ciated  these  opportunities  and  projected  thus  using  them. 

Moy  Toy,  standing  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  sacred  fire, 
gazed  at  him  for  one  moment  in  blank  wonderment,  the 
curiously  wrought  stone  pipe  in  his  hand,  slipping  through 
his  nerveless  fingers,  shattered  unheeded  on  one  of  the  stea 
tite  rocks  that  supported  the  fire.  And  he  —  Moy  Toy,  the 
fool,  the  madman,  but  for  an  accident,  a  mere  trifle  —  would 
have  laid  in  ashes  this  fine  brain  with  its  curious  workings, 
its  many  shifts,  its  convolutions  of  knowledge  that  exceeded 
the  wisdom  of  all  the  men  he  had  ever  known  from  far  or 
near,  —  all  would  now  be  a  mere  cinder,  the  sport  of  the 
wind,  all  lost  to  the  Cherokee  nation  and  the  aggrandize 
ment  of  the  great  chief,  Moy  Toy  !  With  the  recollection 
he  became  anxiously  apprehensive.  That  night  —  that 
night  of  woe,  while  the  slaughtered  braves  were  laid  in 
their  hasty  graves,  and  the  prisoner  awaited  their  fair  passage 
to  a  world  beyond  in  a  bitter  suspense  that  was  to  inaugu 
rate  and  augment  his  destined  tortures — would  the  memory 
of  those  anguished  hours,  guarded  on  the  summit  of  the 
high  mound,  move  this  Frenchman  to  withhold  aught  of 
this  vital,  this  all-important,  this  intensely  coveted  know 
ledge  from  the  Indian  warriors  ?  Moy  Toy's  mental  atti 
tude,  wistful,  repentant,  propitiatory,  was  distinctly  meek, 
as  intently  listening  he  stared  at  Laroche,  who  was  a  trifle 
surprised  at  his  agitation. 

"  Being  a  warrior,  a  soldier,  I  have  learned  many  things, 
Moy  Toy,  that  you  would  like  to  know,  during  my  service 
as  an  officer  of  engineers  and  artillery,  —  and  that  would 
be  of  help  to  you  against  the  English/5 


106  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

One  could  hardly  say  how  many  months  of  work  had 
gone  into  the  fashioning  and  polishing  of  that  pipe,  a  fine 
bit  of  carved  stone,  a  unique  specimen  of  aboriginal  art, 
shattered  on  the  ground,  but  Moy  Toy's  fingers  were  uncon 
scious  that  it  had  escaped  them. 

He  essayed  some  anxious  phrases  of  apology. 

They  hardly  knew  what  they  did  that  night  —  surely 
they  were  sorely  tried  —  an  embassy  received  in  peace  and 
honor,  and  ending  in  a  murder  of  unsuspecting  and  gener 
ous  hosts  —  he  feared  Laroche  had  been  inconsiderately 
treated,  but  prayed  he  would  forgive  the  ignorance  of  the 
poor  Cherokees,  and  help  them  against  their  foe. 

The  subtle  Frenchman  now  stared  hard  at  the  subtle 
Indian. 

"  Oh,"  Laroche  said  at  last,  airily,  yet  still  at  a  loss, 
"  you  did  the  best  you  could,  no  doubt,  in  turning  me  over 
to  the  care  of  these  white  people  who  treated  my  ills  in 
a  way  to  which  I  and  they  are  accustomed.  No,  no ; 
although  they  are  British  the  quarrel  would  have  been  had 
you  persisted  in  keeping  me  at  Tellico." 

Moy  Toy  shut  his  mouth  so  suddenly  that  his  tongue 
was  in  some  sharp  danger  from  his  teeth.  Evidently  by 
reason  of  his  delirium  Laroche  had  forgotten  the  aggressions 
upon  his  liberty,  the  length  and  torment  of  his  captivity, 
the  preparations  for  his  torture  and  death  in  satisfaction  of 
the  crimes  of  his  Choctaw  colleague.  The  happy  fantasy! 
The  blessed  fever  ! 

"  There  is  one  boon  I  shall  exact  for  the  service  I 
have  already  rendered  you,"  Laroche  continued,  seriously, 
weightily.  "  It  is  my  pleasure  to  ask  it,  yet  it  is  also  your 
interest  to  grant  it,  and  as  a  pledge  of  the  future.  I  jeop 
ardized  my  interest  and  promotion,  I  braved  the  wrath  of 
Mingo  Push-koosh,  that  a  woman's  life  —  your  sister's  life 

—  should  not  be  placed  in  peril.     Much  evil  came  of  this, 

—  but  /  risked  most.'7 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  107 

Moy  Toy,  gazing  fixedly  at  him,  thought  he  little  knew 
how  much  he  had  risked. 

"  And  now,'7  continued  Laroche,  "  I  ask  in  return  a  safe 
conduct  for  another  woman  —  the  daughter  of  the  Scotch 
trader." 

He  paused  with  some  sudden  impediment  of  speech,  his 
eyes  seeming  lighter,  clearer  than  their  wont,  cast  upward 
at  the  lowering  storm  cloud. 

"This  British  family  have  saved  my  life  by  their  care, 
and  I  owe  them  their  lives  in  recompense.  They  must  go 
in  safety,  but  —  I  promise  you  "  —  once  more  that  sudden 
hiatus  in  his  fluency  —  "  they  shall  not  return." 

He  was  not  as  observant  as  usual,  or  he  must  have  dis 
cerned  some  extreme  and  secret  joy  beneath  Moy  Toy's 
calm  exterior.  That  unique  and  quaint  phenomenon  of 
knowledge  so  delighted  the  crafty  Indian  !  —  that  he  should 
hold  the  key  of  incidents  of  great  import  in  the  experience 
of  this  man  who  was  himself  unconscious  of  them !  And 
in  the  excess  of  his  relief  that  Laroche  remembered  naught 
of  his  cruel  perils,  averted  by  a  mere  accident,  the  chief 
could  have  cried  out  in  sheer,  inarticulate  joy.  But  he  said, 
quite  simply,  that  Laroche  was  his  best  beloved  friend, 
whose  injunctions  should  be  obeyed,  that  he  loved  every 
hair  on  his  head,  that  he  should  never  forget  the  rescue  of 
his  sister,  which,  indeed,  he  felt  he  should  have  remembered 
earlier,  for  it  was  his  nephew  who  should  be  his  heir  and 
hold  the  sway  of  Great  Tellico. 

"  The  life  of  the  trader's  daughter,  her  safety,  and  the 
safety  of  all  the  trader's  household  I  demand  for  that  ser 
vice,"  Laroche  repeated  solemnly.  "  And  as  it  is  assured 
to  them  so  will  I  requite  you.  I  will  promise  you  then  all 
the  aid  that  mind  and  heart  and  hand  can  give  you  here 
after.  I  swear  it." 

Moy  Toy  renewed  his  protestations  of  friendship  and 
reiterated  his  apologies.  The  tone  and  tenor  of  his  remarks 


108  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

implied  acquiescence,  and  Laroche  felt  no  lack.  But  Moy 
Toy  looked  after  him  cynically  as  he  took  his  way  back 
toward  the  dwelling  of  the  trader,  for  the  first  large  drops 
of  the  impending  storm  were  falling  slowly  through  the 
air.  A  breathless  cry,  like  a  gasp,  went  up  from  the  rain 
enchanters  at  the  other  side  of  the  square ;  then  ensued 
silence,  tense,  expectant,  painful.  The  farmer,  poor  sport 
of  the  skies,  was  aware  that  this  limited  manifestation  of 
the  obedience  of  the  powers  of  the  air  rescued  the  repu 
tation  of  the  cheerataghe,  since  rain  had  fallen  at  their 
bidding,  yet  did  not  save  the  crop,  and,  reduced  to  the 
position  of  the  only  sufferer  in  the  event,  hung  in  desperate 
suspense  upon  the  developments  of  the  next  few  moments. 
The  trading-house,  with  its  door  broadly  aflare,  giving  a 
glimpse  of  an  orderly  assortment  of  merchandise  within, 
had  on  the  roofless  porch  or  platform  a  group  of  the  young 
packmen  who  had  accompanied  Callum  Macllvesty  from 
Charlestown.  They  were  wearying  for  their  return  thither, 
since  so  many  restrictions  had  been  laid  on  their  conduct 
and  language,  lest  they  give  offense  to  the  Indians  and 
bring  down  reprisal  while  they  had  in  their  keeping  the 
precious  charge  of  the  young  lady,  "  little  lassie  Lilias," 
as  auld  Jock  loved  to  call  her.  This  restraint  greatly 
irked  them,  for  they  were  accustomed  to  giving  and  receiv 
ing  hard  knocks,  speaking  their  minds  without  fear  or  favor 
and  with  a  very  rough  edge  to  their  tongues.  One,  fallen 
a  trifle  ill,  declared  that  he  would  be  well  in  a  trice  if  he 
were  not  "  just  dying  of  all  these  manners  !  "  Sodden 
themselves  in  a  thousand  superstitions,  they  had  taken  a 
keen  interest  in  the  weather  bewitchments,  in  which,  from 
these  motives,  they  had  been  forbidden  to  mingle.  They 
had  neither  the  time  nor  the  inclination  to  notice  the  inva 
lid  hastening  away  out  of  the  rain  to  shelter,  but  his  dis 
ordered  step,  his  pallid  countenance,  his  agitated  mien  did 
not  fail  altogether  of  observation.  The  door  of  the  dwell- 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  109 

ing  opened  as  he  approached  it,  and  there  stood  Lilias  hold 
ing  it  against  the  wind.  So  incongruous  seemed  her  fair  face 
and  golden  hair  and  whitely  glimmering  attire  with  the 
sullen  aspect  of  the  approaching  storm,  the  gloom-darkened 
woods  on  every  hand,  that  she  suggested  an  affinity  with 
a  sunlit  scene  that  glimmered  along  the  far  perspective  of 
the  ranges  where  a  rift  in  the  cloud  admitted  a  suffusion  of 
ethereal  golden  light,  in  which  the  mountains  were  azure, 
the  woods  of  a  fine,  intense  jade  hue,  the  flash  of  a  cataract 
like  molten  silver,  —  the  very  apotheosis  of  scenery,  some 
transient  glimpse  of  the  fair  land  of  Canaan. 

Laroche's  lip  trembled  as  he  looked  at  her  —  so  beauti 
ful,  so  good,  so  cruelly  endangered. 

She  noticed  his  pained  expression,  but  misunderstood  its 
meaning.  With  the  constant  household  anxiety  as  to  his 
health  —  "  Ye  hae  been  lang  awa  wi'  that  dour  carle,  Moy 
Toy,  an'  ye  look  pale.  Set  ye  down  by  the  fire,  an'  I  '11 
gie  ye  a  posset,  before  the  others  get  here  to  beg  for  tae  half 
o'  it." 

He  loved  to  do  her  bidding,  even  if  it  were  not  blended 
with  many  odd  "  sups  an'  bites,"  of  a  quality  peculiarly 
acceptable  to  an  invalid's  capricious  appetite.  He  would 
have  drunk  poison  as  readily  for  her  sake,  he  said  to  him 
self,  and  added  with  a  grim  smile  that  he  might  do  that  yet. 
For  he  had  come  to  a  full  realization  of  late.  He  con 
sciously  recoiled  from  all  his  loyal  plans,  his  secret  orders,  his 
duties,  his  pride  of  intellect,  of  achievement,  his  past,  his 
profession,  his  future.  He  said  to  himself  that  he  would 
have  liked  the  life  of  a  poppet  —  he  could  have  felt  if  he 
had  been  made  of  wood  or  wax  —  to  be  placed  thus  in  a 
corner  ;  to  gaze  at  her  with  unwinking  eyes  ;  to  be  given  a 
bowl  of  drink,  withdrawn  in  a  minute,  as  she  must  needs 
test  with  her  own  lips  whether  it  were  not  too  hot.  He 
sought  with  sedulous  care  the  section  of  the  rim  her  lips 
had  touched.  Poison!  but  the  cup  of  the  present  held 


110  A   SPECTRE    OF  POWER 

nectar !  He  would  have  been  satisfied  —  would  have  kissed 
the  hand  of  fate  had  he  been  only  her  pet  dog. 

A  great  collie,  old,  cosmopolitan, — he  had  come  across  on 
the  ship  with  her  father  in  the  days  "  lang  syne,"  and  ex 
ceedingly  surprising  did  he  find  the  experience  of  a  collie  of 
degree  on  the  ocean, — had  deserted  the  trading-house,  since 
her  arrival,  repudiated  his  master,  forgotten  his  friends,  the 
packmen,  cut  his  Indian  acquaintance  dead,  to  lie  by  her 
hearth,  to  follow  her  footsteps,  to  feed  from  her  hand,  to  sit 
with  his  head  against  her  knee  and  his  listless  body,  dislo 
cated,  weighing  against  her,  to  whine  in  jealous  disfavor  and 
an  effort  to  attract  her  attention  had  she  more  than  a  sen 
tence  or  two  to  exchange  with  any  interlocutor  save  him. 

"  Whist,  whist,  hinny,"  —  she  would  gently  smite  his 
lolling  head  —  "  ye  711  talk  soon,  and  then  I  ?11  ken  ye  're 
no  canny ! " 

For  this,  even  so  little  as  this,  Laroche  felt  at  times 
that  he  would  barter  his  learning,  his  prospects,  his  identity, 
his  duty.  Sometimes  he  sought  to  justify  his  long,  un 
necessary  lingering  here,  despite  his  consciousness  of  the 
fact  that  his  very  individuality  was  a  dangerous  secret. 
Were  it  known  or  suspected  that  he  was  employed  in  the 
French  interest,  he  could  not  hope  to  escape  arrest,  and 
thereby  injury  to  the  cause  he  represented.  Whatever 
might  be  the  will  of  personal  friends,  should  he  retain 
them  in  the  stress  of  these  disclosures,  hard  usage  would 
he  encounter  at  the  hands  of  the  British  colonial  author 
ities  —  perhaps  even  death ;  nay,  had  there  not  been  a  re 
ward  offered  for  the  scalp  of  every  Frenchman  busy  among 
the  Indians  ?  And  certainly  in  such  an  adverse  development 
he  could  not  count  on  the  adhesion  of  the  fickle  Cherokees, 
especially  to  their  detriment !  But  for  this  one  rift  in  his 
loyalty,  he  was  wholly  devoted  to  the  Louisiana  interests 
which  he  had  so  zealously  sought  to  advance.  This  — 
this  was  his  own  personal  beguilement.  He  would  have 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  111 

known  how  to  resist  his  wonted  allurements,  —  the  pride  of 
intellect,  the  pampered  independence  and  security  of  life, 
the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  He  was  full  armed 
against  them ;  the  attack  would  have  been  met  by  hardy 
resistance  along  those  lines.  But  to  divert  him  from  his 
duty,  his  loyalty  to  his  political  trust,  his  obedience  to  his 
officers  by  means  of  a  virtuous  attachment  to  a  being  so 
gentle,  so  fair,  so  good  that  "  no  man  could  think  on  evil 
seeing  her  "  —  this  seemed  a  device  worthy  of  the  devil,  and 
very  like  him ;  for  this  attachment  would  have  done  him 
honor  in  any  station  of  life  save  this,  harbored  deep,  deep 
in  the  subtle,  deceitful  heart  of  an  enemy  in  the  guise  of  a 
friend,  a  spy  upon  his  benefactor,  the  destroyer  of  their 
simple  and  limited  and  humble  prosperity. 

Not  so  subtle  as  he  thought  —  for  now  the  schemer  was 
but  the  man.  Worse  still,  for  his  secret,  he  was  a  French 
man.  Sometimes  as  he  looked  at  her  those  keen,  eagle- 
like  eyes  of  his  softened  suddenly,  with  his  emotional  French 
susceptibility,  and  filled  with  tears.  These  tears  she  saw, 
and  in  responsive  emotion  her  own  would  start,  trembling, 
to  the  eyelids.  She  was  not  used  to  the  sight  of  tears  in 
a  man's  eyes.  Callum  Macllvesty  had  not  trafficked  with 
such  gear  since  he  had  first  gotten  afoot  on  his  sturdy  infant 
legs  and  began  his  long  travels  through  this  weary  world. 
Sometimes,  taking  a  pinch  out  of  the  proffered  snuffbox  of 
a  merchant  of  degree  in  Charlestown,  Jock  Lesly,  who  could 
carry  his  liquor  well  enough,  would  find  this  unaccustomed 
gentility  of  the  mull  culminating  in  a  sneeze  and  water  in 
the  eyes.  But  such  tears  as  these  of  Laroche's  —  tears  of 
sheer  pleasure,  of  subtle  sorrow,  of  hopeless  love,  of  the  sweet 
emotion  of  looking  upon  her  —  she  had  not  witnessed,  and 
yet,  enlightened  by  a  kindred  sentiment,  she  could  appreci 
ate  ;  and  the  difference  of  the  manifestation  for  her  sake 
from  aught  else  she  had  ever  known  made  it  seem  the  deeper, 
the  truer,  the  dearer. 


112  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

Certainly  it  was  more  picturesque  than  the  obvious  signs 
of  Callum's  dissatisfaction  in  an  unhappy  love,  though,  to 
be  sure,  she  took  scant  heed  of  them.  When  "  ses  jupons  " 
swished  out  of  the  room  in  his  swinging  stride,  she  was 
cognizant  neither  of  the  cause  nor  the  circumstance  of  his 
sudden  taking  of  offense.  And  this  brought  slowly  to 
his  intelligence  the  fact  that  she  was  equally  unmindful  of 
his  embarrassed  return,  as  he  sat  glowering  at  Laroche 
across  the  fire,  well  aware  that  his  watchful  rival  fully  ap 
preciated  and  rejoiced  in  the  futility  of  his  show  of  anger. 
Once,  in  awkward  inadvertence,  Callum  stepped  on  the  col 
lie's  tail,  and  the  shrieks  that  the  doggie  sent  up  to  high 
heaven  would  seem  to  imply  that  there  was  no  other  canine 
so  ruthlessly  afflicted  in  the  universe.  Lilias  rebuked  Mac- 
Ilvesty's  carelessness  in  a  tone  which  conveyed  genuine  in 
dignation,  and  he  could  only  protest  in  a  gruff  monosyllable  ; 
while  the  beast,  leaning  against  her  knee,  causelessly  sob 
bing  for  half  an  hour,  would  burst  forth  in  a  plaintive  yelp 
whenever  his  eyes  met  Callum' s,  and  her  "  Whist,  hinny, 
whist "  had  all  the  adverse  sentiment  that  might  have  been 
expressed  in  an  admonition,  "  I  wad  not  tak  ony  notice  o' 
him." 

Callum  could  not  even  mend  the  fire  with  wonted  deft 
ness,  nor  keep  his  temper  when  the  logs  of  wood  would 
roll  down,  but  would  administer  a  kick  of  such  free  force 
as  to  send  the  red-hot  coals  flying  about  the  puncheon 
floor  and  all  the  family  scuttling  to  catch  them  up  before 
the  whole  "  bigging  suld  be  in  a  low."  Even  in  the  as 
siduous  comity  of  his  conversations  with  Jock  Lesly  he 
often  seemed  to  forget  names  of  people  and  places  in  Scot 
land  with  which  he  was  obviously  familiar,  and  he  was  curi 
ously  uninformed  of  all  calculated  to  interest  the  elder  in 
the  doings  of  the  regiment.  Sometimes,  indeed,  his  sen 
tence  broke  off  in  the  middle,  and  he  would  fall  into  a 
revery,  from  which  he  was  only  roused  by  the  sudden  jocu- 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  113 

larly  upbraiding  voice  of  Jock  Lesly,  and  once  more  with 
galvanic  earnestness  he  would  essay  his  method  of  propitia 
tion.  Matters  went  better  with  him  when  the  simple  and 
unobservant  Jock  Lesly  himself  did  the  talking,  which  was 
usually  the  case,  in  great  fullness  of  detail  and  long,  circui 
tous  routes  of  narrative,  leaving  his  auditor  scant  duty  save 
to  murmur  "  Ou  !  "  "  Ay  I"  "I 7se  warrant  ye  !  "  at  inter 
vals,  these  dicta  being  uncompromising  and  calculated  to  be 
generally  applicable  to  any  situation.  His  supplantation 
was  definite  and  complete. 

And  still  Laroche,  despite  his  qualms  of  conscience,  put 
ting  aside  his  repentance  as  for  indulgence  at  a  more  con 
venient  season,  interpreted  all  the  indicia  of  the  young 
Highlander's  state  of  mind,  felt  the  complacence  of  a  fa 
vored  rival,  and  experienced  all  the  joys  of  triumph  over  the 
poor  young  Callum,  as  if  he  had  a  full  intention  to  enter  a 
contest  against  him  for  this  prize.  True  he  was  touched  with 
the  generosity  of  the  young  mountaineer,  who  had  shown 
at  the  first  some  definite  proclivity  to  inquire  into  the 
stranger's  means  as  well  as  local  habitation  and  association, 
but  becoming  impressed  from  some  casual  phrase  with  the 
idea  that  the  guest  was  of  meagre  resources  and  had  experi 
enced  much  financial  hardship,  he  withdrew  all  his  forces 
along  that  line.  The  reverse,  in  fact,  was  the  case,  for  La- 
roche's  fortune  was  not  inconsiderable  and  he  enjoyed  fair 
prospects.  The  error  of  his  magnanimous  rival  elicited 
that  aesthetic  sentiment,  that  prepossession  in  favor  of  what 
ever  is  noble,  which  a  certain  type  delights  to  admire  rather 
than  to  emulate.  It  stimulated  a  degree  of  reciprocal  inter 
est  in  the  young  Highlander,  —  a  sort  of  curiosity  as  to  his 
status  which  comprised  several  incongruities.  Macllvesty's 
poverty  was  obvious,  not  merely  from  his  humble  estate  as 
a  foot-soldier,  but  often  from  allusions  to  it  that  escaped 
him.  He  had  the  manner  of  a  gentleman  of  a  high  type, 
—  he  was  lofty,  yet  not  assuming ;  kind  without  condescen- 


114  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

sion.  He  was  often  merry  but  never  clownish,  and  by 
turns  grave  and  dignified  without  affectation.  Yet  his  edu 
cation  was  most  limited;  he  notably  lacked  the  training 
appertaining  to  a  certain  social  rank,  while  possessing  all  its 
other  worthy  attributes  and  inherent  values ;  his  experi 
ence  of  travel  was  the  service  of  the  Forty-Second,  the 
troop  ship,  and  the  forced  march  of  the  wilderness. 

Laroche,  in  his  idle  interest,  had  had  an  intermittent  in 
tention  of  inquiring  directly  of  Jock  Lesly  concerning  the 
inconsistency  of  the  young  Highlander's  endowments  and 
position,  but  the  awkwardness  of  this  display  of  sheer  curi 
osity  was  obviated  when  one  day  the  trader  complained  of  a 
freak  of  taciturnity  which  he  declared  Callum  had  shown. 

"  I  canna  get  muckle  mair  talk  out  o'  Callum  now  than 
when  he  kenned  naught  but  the  Gaelic." 

Then  in  reply  to  a  question  which  seemed  to  express  but 
a  civil  interest,  "  Ou,  ay,  —  Callum  was  near  grown  when 
he  had  the  meenister  for  a  tutor,  an'  the  callant  got  to  his 
English.  Ou,  ay,  —  the  family  hae  had  hard  straits,  — 
but,  wow,  man  !  the  clan  were  a'  out  in  the  Fifteen,  an' 
then  what  was  left  o'  them  went  out  in  the  Forty-five !  " 
Though  not  without  sympathy,  he  spoke  with  obvious  re 
prehension  of  this  clan's  misfortunes,  for  Jock  Lesly  was 
of  the  Lowland  Scotch  and  had  always  been  well  affected 
to  government.  "  An'  they  lost  much  blood,  an'  a  head  or 
twa  amang  them  afterward,  —  an'  a'  the  land  was  forfeited 
to  the  crown  —  there  were  twa  or  three  titles  amang  them, 
a  yerl  an'  a  baronet  or  twa  —  I  wot  na  what,  but  a'  very 
fine  —  if  it  were  not  for  the  attainder.  Callum  is  kin  to 
gre't  folk !  But  what 's  a  title  —  neither  fitten  to  eat  nor 
to  drink,  I  trow.  I  wad  wuss,  though,  the  callant  did  own 
the  land  that  the  government  took  away  from  his  father,  — 
wha  died  in  hiding  after  the  Forty-five,  —  an'  the  rents, 
that  he  might  hae  made  a  gentleman  o'  himsel'  instead  o' 
just  a  buirdly  foot-sodger." 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  115 

He  was  a  gentleman  even  without  the  land  or  the  rents, 
and  the  Frenchman  piqued  himself  upon  his  subtlety  of 
discernment  in  having  perceived  this  fact  in  so  untoward  a 
guise  as  a  "  foot-sodger  "  who  shoulders  a  musket  for  pay. 

For  these  reasons  now  and  again  Laroche  experienced 
a  compunction  that  he  should  be  destroying  the  prospect  of 
the  domestic  happiness  of  this  man,  when  circumstances  — 
nay,  his  life  was  at  stake !  —  forbade  any  serious  intentions 
on  his  own  part.  And  yet,  and  the  thought  was  .subtly 
sweet,  she  loved  him  —  he  was  sure  of  it  —  as  he  loved 
her.  But  in  the  dark  hours  of  the  night,  when  the  house 
was  silent,  all  wrapped  in  slumber,  a  certain  wakefulness 
had  begun  to  harass  him,  like  a  Nemesis ;  a  voice  of  reproof 
sounded  in  all  his  reflections,  of  warning,  of  presentiment, 
the  prophecy  of  the  future.  When  thus  repentance  and 
doubt  fell  upon  him  he  would  urge  in  extenuation  that  if 
he  had  idly  won  her  heart  it  was  but  in  the  interests  of 
that  disguise  still  so  imperative  upon  him.  Yet  the  thought 
of  their  kindness  was  like  coals  of  fire.  They  had  brought 
him  back  from  the  verge  of  the  grave.  They  had  lavished 
their  best  upon  him,  the  stranger,  for  aught  they  knew 
humble  of  station  and  penniless.  Still,  and  it  was  the  trifle 
that  wrung  his  heart  with  the  most  poignant  pang,  the  best 
room  in  the  house  was  his ;  the  graces  of  the  bed  curtains ; 
the  luxury  of  the  sheets ;  the  cleanly  though  rude  furnish 
ings  ;  all  the  little  comforts  packed  with  the  view  of  her 
father's  illness,  and  brought  so  far  through  the  toilsome 
wilderness,  were  for  the  guest. 

The  heavy  snoring  of  Jock  Lesly  would  echo  from  one 
of  the  rooms  on  the  other  side  of  the  spence,  but  through 
the  flimsy  partition  of  the  adjoining  chamber  Laroche  could 
often  hear  the  creaking  cords  of  the  bedstead  as  Callum 
Macllvesty,  sleepless  too,  flounced  back  and  forth  in  the 
instability  of  his  feather  bed,  restless,  anxious,  reviewing 
many  trifles  fraught  with  great  moment  to  him,  heartsore, 


116  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

weary,  and  despairing.  Laroche  commiserated  the  young 
Highlander's  sentimental  anguish,  but  he  had  a  sentimental 
anguish  of  his  own,  and  he  dwelt  upon  it  in  alternate  pain 
and  pleasure,  in  an  ecstatic  torment. 

One  night  as  he  lay  thus,  pondering  the  events  of  the 
day,  his  attention  was  arrested  by  a  stealthy  step.  He  put 
his  hand  under  his  bolster  and  grasped  the  handle  of  his 
pistol.  He  listened  hopefully  for  the  stir  of  the  tortured 
Callum  Macllvesty,  but  sleep  at  last  and  some  fond  and 
peaceful  dream  held  the  young  Scotchman,  and  naught  but 
the  sound  of  his  deep  and  regular  breathing  attested  his 
proximity  in  the  next  room.  Laroche  hardly  dared  cry  out 
and  alarm  the  house,  lest  the  impending  demonstration  be 
delayed  and  renewed  at  some  moment  when  no  one  was 
awake  and  on  guard.  Except  for  the  possibility  of  firing 
the  building,  it  was  in  danger  of  no  calamity  that  could  fall 
upon  it  without  noise.  The  doors  were  locked,  the  batten 
shutters  had  heavy  bars ;  therefore  he  judged  it  prudent  to 
wait  and  listen. 

There  came  again  the  tread  of  feet,  stealthy,  quiet  as  be 
fore  ;  the  impact  of  a  bare  sole  upon  the  ground  beneath 
the  window  was  distinct  for  a  moment.  In  the  blank  inter 
val  that  ensued  he  heard  the  continual  rise  and  fall  of  the 
breathing  of  the  night ;  the  chiming  and  chanting  of  wood 
land  cicada,  in  regular  alternations  ;  the  rush  of  the  Tennes 
see  Kiver  dashing  over  the  rocks.  Once  more  that  sound, 
as  of  a  bare  foot,  and  again  beneath  the  window. 

He  was  exceedingly  deft  and  light  and  certain  in  all  his 
movements ;  when  it  had  passed  he  slipped  out  of  his  bed 
and  crossed  the  room  to  the  window,  not  a  sound  attesting 
his  progress,  save  that  once  a  puncheon  creaked.  He  stood 
for  a  moment  motionless,  then  peered  through  the  rift  be 
tween  the  shutter  and  the  window. 

Outside  there  was  a  glare  —  a  sudden  glare.  He  saw  a 
figure  so  grotesque  as  to  recall  for  a  moment  the  associations 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  117 

of  his  delirium  ;  then  half  a  dozen  figures  came  into  view, 
all  in  Indian  file,  and  strangely  bedight.  They  were  mak 
ing  the  rounds  of  the  house  again  and  again,  evidently 
working  a  charm.  Perfect  silence  waited  on  their  move 
ments,  save  always  beneath  his  window  the  stroke  of  a  bare 
foot  fell  on  a  sleek  and  clayey  space  with  that  slight  sibi- 
lance  that  gave  him  warning.  Heads  surmounted  by  torches 
enclosed  in  great  gourds,  hideously  painted  in  the  semblance 
of  human  faces,  showed  faces  below  still  more  hideously 
painted  ;  buffalo  horns  and  tails  adorned  figures  grotesquely 
and  silently  dancing ;  others  wore  bears'  claws  and  hides ; 
a  human  panther  ran  on  all  fours,  now  and  again  leaping  so 
high  into  the  air  that  he  seemed  some  inconceivable  triumph 
of  mechanism  instead  of  a  living  creature.  The  soldier  felt 
his  heart  sink.  Seldom  did  the  Indians  permit  the  pre 
sence  of  white  strangers  in  their  more  national  customs, 
and  thus  often  the  depths  of  their  savagery,  their  fantastic 
barbarism,  lay  unrevealed.  Some  strange  significance  surely 
marked  this  grim  pantomime,  enacted  in  the  darkest  hour 
of  the  night  about  the  silent  dwelling,  while  its  unconscious 
inmates  slept.  Their  lives  might  seem  to  hang  by  a  hair. 
He  bethought  himself,  with  a  pang  of  terror,  of  the  young 
packmen  quartered  in  the  attic  of  the  trading-house — surely 
the  glance  of  a  wakeful  eye  must  prelude  the  crack  of  a 
rifle,  for  could  a  sane  man  imagine  this  to  be  aught  but  the 
revelings  of  the  creatures  in  the  midst  of  an  assault.  But 
while  he  gazed  in  a  terror  he  could  hardly  suppress  yet 
dared  not  voice,  in  one  instant,  while  the  panther  was  in 
the  mid-air  trajectory  of  one  of  its  wild  leaps,  every  light 
was  extinguished,  every  figure  vanished ;  and  lurk  and 
listen  as  he  might  for  the  impact  of  the  bare  foot  upon 
the  clayey  soil  which  would  intimate  that  in  darkness  the 
strange  procession  continued  its  rounds,  he  heard  only  the 
vague  sighings  of  the  melancholy  woods,  a  creak  once  of 
the  timbers  of  the  house,  and  again  the  voice  of  the  Tennes 
see  Biver  dashing  against  its  rocks. 


VI 

THE  next  morning  Jock  Lesly  positively  refused  to 
credit  the  reality  of  the  remarkable  procession  that  had 
thrice  encircled  his  house  while  the  dwellers  within,  all 
save  one,  had  slept  oblivious  and  unsuspecting. 

His  bushy  eyebrows  had  drawn  together  in  a  big  blond 
frown  as  he  listened,  his  eyelids  contracted  over  his  nar 
rowed  eyes,  but  he  shook  his  head  when  all  was  said. 

"  Na  —  na  !  —  ye  were  dreaming,  lad  — just  a  bit  of  the 
fever  on  ye  yet !  " 

The  futility  of  the  proceeding ;  its  lack  of  precedent  in 
his  experience ;  the  clear,  fresh,  reassuring  presentment  of 
loco  Town  under  the  vernal  sky,  so  peaceful  with  the  dewy 
matutinal  woods  hard  by,  the  flashing  river,  the  mountain 
ranges  suavely  blue ;  the  friendly  denizens  of  the  vicinage 
coming  and  going  in  and  out  of  the  trading-house ;  the 
clusters  of  headmen  about  the  buildings  of  the  "  beloved 
square,"  perhaps  discussing  some  point  of  interest  in  the 
cabin  of  the  aged  councilors,  or  playing  the  endless  but 
trivial  sedentary  game  of  "  roll  the  bullet  "  —  all  combined 
to  discredit  it;  all  was  as  sane,  as  seemly  as  civilization 
itself,  once  adopt  a  different  standard  —  how  could  it  be 
aught  but  a  dream  ! 

But  Laroche  continued  pale,  anxious,  distrait. 

"  I  thought  I  ought  to  tell  you  and  Callum,"  he  said  — 
the  young  men  affected  a  friendly  familiarity  of  address. 
"  I  know  what  I  know  !  It  was  no  dream  !  " 

Jock  Lesly  rubbed  his  hands  together  as  he  leaned  for 
ward  with  his  wrists  on  his  knees  and  looked  up  at  the 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  119 

younger  man's  face,  with  an  expression  of  kindly  but  super 
ficial  gravity  —  obviously  humoring,  as  he  thought,  a  whim- 
sey. 

"  If  you  have  no  objection,  I  should  like  to  speak  of  it  to 
Moy  Toy/7  Laroche  said. 

"  To  no  one  else,  then,"  said  Jock  Lesly,  for  he  accounted 
himself  a  great  proficient  in  the  subject  of  Indian  traits 
and  manners.  "  The  Injuns  no  like  to  be  keeked  at  an' 
spied  out  when  they  are  at  their  high  jinks  and  fandan 
goes.  But  Moy  Toy  's  a  kindly  soul  an'  friendly.  I  mind 
how  he  wearied  to  speak  wi'  ye  while  ye  lay  in  a  dwam 
when  ye  cam  first  to  loco." 

The  instant  the  revelation  passed  the  lips  of  Laroche,  he 
saw  by  the  change  in  the  Indian's  face  that  the  disclosure 
was  unexpected.  Moy  Toy,  however,  caught  his  features 
into  their  wonted  stoical  calm,  and  the  flicker  of  expression 
was  as  sudden  and  as  transient  as  the  flash  of  light  reflected 
from  a  bird's  wing  on  a  pool  of  sombre  waters. 

Then  he  replied  casually,  almost  in  the  words  of  the 
Scotchman,  — 

"  It  was  but  a  dream  !  " 

"  But,  Moy  Toy,"  urged  Laroche,  "  dreams  come  true. 
All  the  Cherokee  nation  believe  the  dreams  that  visit  the 
sleep  of  their  '  beloved  men.'  " 

The  chief  smiled  with  a  sort  of  flouting  contempt  that 
the  white  man  should  thus  place  himself  and  his  paltry 
sleeping  fancies  on  the  same  plane  with  the  "  beloved  men  " 
of  the  great  Cherokee  nation  and  the  eternal  truths,  the 
veiled  face  of  the  future,  revealed  to  them  in  the  sanctities 
of  their  priestly  visions ;  he  seemed  angrier  than  even  the 
presumption  might  warrant.  The  paleface,  he  declared, 
was  not  a  Cherokee  "  beloved  man,"  nor  even  an  adopted 
tribesman.  Why  should  Indian  visions  haunt  his  slum 
bers  in  the  sincerities  of  truth  ?  Then,  once  more  visibly 
repressing  some  secret,  rising  agitation,  he  continued  with 


120  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

a  specious  smile,  "  I  myself  have  firmly  grasped  your  hand, 
and  I  do  not  speak  with  the  lying  lips  nor  the  snake's 
forked  tongue.  I  am  Moy  Toy  !  But  these  Indians  of  the 
dreams  —  beware  of  them.  They  do  not  know  you  to  be 
the  best  beloved  friend  of  the  Cherokee  chief.  They  may 
cheat  you  and  deride  !  No  man  can  lay  hands  on  them  — 
the  dream  Indians,  —  and  this  makes  their  lying  tongue 
so  strong  to  the  paleface,  even  to  the  '  beloved  man '  of  the 
French  king.  No  Indian  of  the  vision  should  delude  you 
to  the  wreck  of  your  peace  of  mind." 

Laroche  said  no  more,  resolving  that  no  Indian  of  the 
flesh  should  delude  him,  whatever  deceptions  might  be 
wrought  upon  his  senses  by  the  immaterial  Indians  of 
dreams.  He  seemed  to  assent.  No  man  could  so  fashion 
the  guise  of  appearances  to  the  similitude  of  fact.  He 
laughed  a  little,  with  the  suggestion  of  being  a  trifle  out  of 
countenance,  a  little  ashamed  of  his  confidences.  Moy  Toy, 
from  being  keenly  observant,  grew  distrait,  and  answered 
presently  at  random.  At  length,  as  if  in  justification  of  the 
foolish  importance  he  had  attached  to  his  vision,  Laroche 
declared  that  he  had  great  interest  in  the  significance  of 
dreams,  that  he  held  them  to  be  scenes,  as  it  were,  vouch 
safed  from  the  border  world  beyond,  peopled  by  those  who 
have  once  lived  here,  that  he  had  always  longed  to  be  ad 
mitted  to  listen  when  he  saw  the  "  beloved  men  "  grouped 
under  a  tree,  or  in  the  "  holy  cabin "  of  the  "  beloved 
square,"  telling  their  dreams  to  each  other  and  conning 
their  interpretations. 

"  And  so  you  shall  hear,"  Moy  Toy  interrupted,  "  when 
you  are  adopted  into  the  Cherokee  nation  and  made  a  great 
'  beloved  man,'  after  you  have  taught  us  to  manufacture  the 
powder,  the  spirit  of  death  that  comes  roaring  and  rushing 
with  fire  and  smoke  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  gun,  send 
ing  the  leaden  bullet  to  work  his  will."  He  was  still 
looking  about  with  a  preoccupied  mien  and  eager  eyes,  and 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  121 

suddenly  he  said  that  he  must  be  gone  for  a  space,  as  he 
had  matters  of  some  import  to  discuss  with  the  headmen  of 
loco  Town,  for  he  had  been  summoned  from  Tellico  to 
meet  them  in  their  council-house. 

The  wary  Laroche,  as  he  cast  his  eye  over  the  spaces  of 
the  town,  noted  that  the  headmen  were  presently  being 
sought  here,  there,  and  everywhere,  and  that  a  very  con 
siderable  interval  elapsed  before,  congregated  together,  they 
repaired  to  the  state-house  j  he  inferred  from  the  fact  that 
the  meeting  was  no  matter  of  previous  arrangement,  but 
altogether  impromptu.  The  coming  of  Moy  Toy  had  had 
about  it  all  the  indicia  of  a  mere  personal  visit  to  him  to 
make  sure  of  the  state  of  his  health  and  the  date  of  his 
possible  return  to  Tellico,  where  he  was  likely  to  be  hardly 
less  a  prisoner  because  he  was  so  valued  as  a  guest,  the 
prospect  of  his  services  being  held  at  so  high  a  rate.  The 
conclusion  was  irresistible  ;  the  revelation  of  that  vision 
of  the  dead  watches  of  the  night,  which  in  his  fatuity  the 
Scotchman  called  a  dream,  and  the  Indian  in  his  craft  a  de 
lusion,  had  a  significance,  an  importance  that  warranted  the 
exertion  of  Moy  Toy's  great  influence  in  the  nation  to  sum 
mon  into  council  the  headmen  of  a  town,  not  his  own 
municipality,  without  the  forms,  the  heralds,  the  pream 
bles  so  habitually  required  and  accorded. 

What  did  it  mean,-  this  dream  ?  Oh  for  a  soothsayer 
indeed !  —  for  an  interpreter  of  the  masked  fact  rather  than 
the  fantasy  of  fiction  !  Laroche  stood  for  one  moment  in 
despair,  realizing  that  the  lives  of  the  trader's  household 
hung  upon  the  result  of  the  debate  now  in  progress  in  that 
strange,  clay-daubed,  dome-shaped  temple,  —  upon  the  wild 
will  of  those  malignant  beings  endowed,  as  it  seemed  to  him, 
merely  with  the  semblance  of  humanity  and  yet  with  the 
mental  processes,  the  moral  insanity,  the  malevolent  spite 
of  fiends.  All  was  the  more  barbaric,  the  more  unholy, 
the  more  unearthly,  because  of  the  recollection  of  the  gro- 


122  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

tesque  features  of  that  weird,  silent  circling  and  circling  last 
night  about  the  dwelling  of  their  victims.  Since  that  dwell 
ing  harbored  her,  of  whom  Laroche  could  not  think  save 
with  a  swelling  heart,  of  whom  he  could  not  speak  for  the 
candor  of  words  crowding  to  his  lips  which  his  embassy  must 
disallow  him,  whom  he  could  not  thank  for  his  life  that  he 
owed  to  her  and  hers,  for  gratitude  was  all  inadequate, 
he  must  act,  he  must  seize  upon  some  device.  And  still  he 
stood  silent,  inert,  not  knowing  where  to  turn. 

Was  it  as  a  penalty,  he  asked  himself  in  sudden  affright, 
that  he  was  to  be  called  upon  to  witness  without  recourse 
the  destruction  of  this  home,  the  hideous  massacre  of  the 
hearthstone  circle,  to  him  now  as  the  treasure  of  all  the 
earth  ?  Would  he,  indeed,  do  no  penance  till  the  leisure 
he  liked  awaited  him  ?  Was  he  to  find  what  joy  might  be 
in  the  hugging  of  chains  till  he  should  choose  to  rouse  his  will 
and  smite  his  soul  free  of  its  cherished  shackles  ?  Was  he, 
unscathed,  to  steep  his  consciousness  in  the  intense,  sweet 
delight  of  this  selfish  affection,  pure  doubtless,  but  because 
of  the  unimpeachable,  unapproachable  virtue  and  innocence 
of  its  object,  and  not  because  of  any  restraints  exerted 
upon  himself  by  the  dictates  of  honor  or  manly  faith  or 
kindness  and  tenderness  of  heart,  —  he  who  knowingly,  in 
tentionally,  had  won  her  love  for  naught,  to  cast  away  again, 
had,  perhaps,  wrecked  her  happiness,  had  certainly  sup 
planted  the  true,  devoted,  loyal  man  fitted  and  once  destined 
to  be  her  husband. 

Had  he  expected  to  decree  his  own  punishment  for  his 
idle  cruelty  when  surfeited  with  the  semblance  of  roman 
ticism  ?  Beshrew  his  leniency  !  — he  had  devised  a  light 
one !  To  return  to  Great  Tellico  with  an  empty  heart  and 
a  drear  sense  of  separation  from  all  on  earth  he  loved ;  to 
work  at  the  behests  of  the  government  that  employed  him ; 
to  obey  the  orders  of  his  superior  officers  for  which  even 
morally  he  was  not  responsible  ;  to  dwell  in  a  sad  pleasure 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  123 

and  a  sweet  pain  upon  the  memory  of  a  fair  face,  a  tender 
parting  word  —  had  he  thought  to  hold  in  the  sanctities  of 
his  most  secret  heart  the  recollection  of  a  kiss  and  tears  of 
farewell  ?  This  his  prophetic  vision  had  viewed  as  his  un 
kind  fate,  —  and  he  had  sighed  in  the  anticipation  of  this 
romantic  woe ! 

He  now  stood  aghast  between  his  trivial  fancy  of  the 
future  and  its  harsh  face  coming  so  near  that  it  seemed  half 
revealed.  Heaven,  just  heaven,  mindful  of  retribution, 
would  so  smite  him,  insensible  though  he  had  become,  that 
he  should  feel  its  wrath.  Was  the  blow  to  fall  on  him 
through  the  woes  of  others  ?  Was  he  to  see  the  tyave  and 
sturdy  Scotch  trader,  so  kindly  and  generous,  suspicious  of 
naught  in  his  own  open  candor,  smitten  to  the  ground  in 
his  own  house,  gory,  scalped,  disemboweled,  the  gross  flout 
of  what  once  he  was  ?  All  a-tremble,  Laroche  asked  of 
himself  should  he  who  had  inflicted  much  keen  pain  in  in 
genious  wise  on  his  young  rival  be  compelled  to  witness 
the  keener  tortures  of  the  stake?  And  how  should  he 
look  on  her  golden  hair  that  he  had  loved  —  save  the  mark  ! 
—  dabbled  and  dulled  with  brains  and  blood  ! 

Laroche  gave  vent  to  a  hoarse,  inarticulate  cry.  For  this, 
all  this,  would  result  from  his  deception  and  his  long 
lingering  here  in  the  false  guise  of  Tarn  Wilson.  Had  he 
returned  to  safety  at  Tellico  the  machinations  of  the  French 
among  the  inconstant  Cherokees  must  have  been  gradually 
divulged  by  the  fact  of  his  continued  presence  there,  and 
his  identity  as  an  emissary  of  that  government  suspected ; 
thus  this  handful  of  British  subjects,  warned  in  time,  would 
have  taken  prompt  measures  for  their  protection  and  have 
compassed  their  withdrawal  from  the  country.  The  menace 
that  now  hung  over  them  was  his  fault,  the  result  of  his 
treachery,  his  idle  trifling. 

He  wondered  if  the  fantastic  threats  of  the  previous  night 
might  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  headmen  of  loco 


124  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

Town  were  inflated  by  the  continued  presence  of  the  repre 
sentative  of  the  French  government,  the  large  splendor  of 
his  promises  transmitted  from  one  council-house  to  another, 
his  secret  mission  to  unify  the  tribes,  organize  and  com 
mand  their  army.  Were  they  already  feeling  their  emanci 
pation  from  the  British  rule ;  already  emboldened  by  the 
knowledge  of  the  great  French  king's  strength,  as  if  the 
promised  munitions  of  war  were  in  store ;  already  rejoicing 
in  the  blood  of  their  earliest  victims,  even  while  it  yet 
coursed  with  calm  pulsations  through  their  veins  ? 

Would  heaven  only  in  its  omnipotent  goodness  avert  the 
blow,  turn  the  time  back,  halt  the  sun  in  its  irresistible 
march !  He  laughed  in  a  sort  of  bitter  scorn  that  these 
miracles  of  mercy  must  needs  be  invoked  to  undo  what  he 
had  so  willfully  done.  Yet  he  must  know  the  full  measure 
of  the  menace  —  and  once  more  the  hideous,  significant 
phantasmagoria  of  that  mystic  midnight  magic  pressed  upon 
his  quickened  consciousness. 

This  was  a  keen  brain,  essentially  the  schemer's.  Laroche 
was  still  standing  near  the  spot  where  Moy  Toy  had  left 
him.  Close  by,  hitched  to  the  bough  of  a  tree,  was  the  horse 
of  the  prince  of  Tellico,  —  a  fine  animal,  bearing  in  his 
mien  and  form  strong  suggestions  of  his  ancestors,  the  Span 
ish  barbs.  Though  fiery  he  was  as  gentle,  and  he  only  reared 
with  impatience  and  displeasure  when  the  Frenchman,  with 
a  sudden  thought,  laid  hold  upon  his  mane,  seeking  to 
mount  as  usual  from  the  near  side.  Eemembering  the  habit 
of  the  Indians  always  to  mount  on  the  off  side  he  was  quickly 
in  the  saddle,  and  giving  the  spirited  charger  a  cut  with  a 
whip  to  which  it  was  unaccustomed  he  was  out  of  the  town 
like  a  flash  and  galloping  at  a  breakneck  speed  along  the 
trading  path  through  the  wild  woods. 

It  was  high  noon  at  Great  Tellico  when  he  drew  rein  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tennessee  Biver.  Vernal  languors  were  in 
the  air  j  the  richness  of  the  waxing  season  embellished  field 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  125 

and  forest,  the  velvet  blue  of  the  Great  Smoky  Mountains, 
the  intense,  almost  violet  hue  of  the  sky,  the  redundancy  of 
the  flowering  shrubs  and  the  growth  of  the  grass  and  weeds 
underfoot.  The  river  in  the  recent  drought  had  shrunken 
since  he  last  had  seen  it,  revealing  here  and  there  a  stretch 
of  fine,  amber-tinted  sand,  and  again  a  rugged,  shelving  ledge 
of  rock,  and  yet  again  beds  of  muscle  shells,  numbers  of 
which,  opened  and  searched  for  the  fresh-water  pearls,  lay 
riven  apart,  giving  an  opalescent  shimmer  to  the  casual  glance 
and  a  whiter  margin  to  the  gray  and  glossy  stream.  The 
shadows  were  limited,  yet  dense,  so  clear  was  the  exquisitely 
limpid  and  fresh  mountain  air.  The  sun  was  not  warm, 
despite  its  splendid  effusions,  yellowing  with  an  effect  of 
burnished  glamour,  prophetic  of  ripening  glories. 

The  Indians  who  had  marked  his  arrival  gathered  in 
groups  at  a  distance,  now  sheltered  by  a  shrub  or  a  stump, 
now  by  the  corner  of  a  house,  occasionally  peeping  out  at 
him  in  the  covert  way  which  they  affected  to  ascribe  to 
their  consideration  toward  guests.  For,  said  they,  openly  to 
study  the  mien  and  dress  and  person  of  a  stranger  savors  of 
discourtesy,  but  unobserved  to  mark  all  his  qualities  from  a 
screen  gratifies  the  curiosity  and  gives  no  offense.  In  this 
instance  they  were  influenced  by  interests  far  deeper  than 
sheer  curiosity.  They  were  all  well  aware  of  his  identity, 
the  terrible  fate  for  which  he  had  been  destined,  his  reprieve 
and  transference  to  the  British  trading-station  at  loco,  that 
by  the  European  remedies  to  which  his  system  was  accus 
tomed  he  might  be  cured  of  his  strange  fever,  which  had 
defied  the  skill  and  magic  of  the  cheerataghe.  For  what 
purpose  he  had  been  reserved,  however,  whether  for  the 
torture  when  his  unconsciousness  should  not  rob  it  of  half 
its  terrors,  or  as  a  slave,  or  as  a  hostage,  or  other  ulterior 
view  of  Moy  Toy  and  the  rest  of  the  headmen,  the  rank 
and  file  were  not  informed.  Therefore  a  very  genuine  sen 
sation  pervaded  the  several  coteries  as  they  marked  the  free, 


126  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

independent  air,  the  erect  carriage,  the  easy,  deft  step  with 
which  Laroche,  no  longer  splendidly  arrayed  in  the  daz 
zling  French  uniform,  but  always  of  a  point-device  effect,  even 
bedight  in  buckskins,  crossed  the  space  in  front  of  the 
mound  where  he  had  awaited  his  fate  in  such  weary  sus 
pense  and  dread.  Perhaps  he  might  not  have  been  able  to 
maintain  this  valiant  attitude  if  that  hiatus  of  recollection 
had  been  once  bridged  over.  The  event  had  passed  to  him 
as  if  it  had  never  been,  and  he  sustained  the  gaze  of  the  com 
munity  as  possessed  of  a  unique  interest,  —  a  man  who,  but 
for  an  accident,  might  now  have  been,  instead  of  a  man,  a 
handful  of  ashes,  whirling  about  with  no  more  substance  or 
identity  or  cohesion  of  personality  than  the  grains  of  sand 
strewn  over  the  "  beloved  square.'7 

Laroche  flung  himself  down  upon  the  roots  of  the  tree 
in  front  of  the  dwelling  of  Akaluka,  and  took  off  his  coonskin 
cap  to  let  the  cool  breeze  refresh  his  throbbing  temples. 
Akaluka,  glancing  suddenly  out  of  the  door,  was  startled  to 
see  him  sitting  there  —  startled  and  not  pleased.  She  had 
had  a  great  fright  in  the  complication  that  had  come  so  near 
to  the  bestowal  of  her  in  marriage  upon  the  Choctaw  chief, 
Mingo  Push-koosh,  who  had  slain  in  such  grievous  wise  the 
unoffending  braves  of  the  town,  whom  he  had  found  peace 
fully  spreading  their  seines  at  the  confluence  of  the  Ten 
nessee  and  the  Tellico.  Often  with  a  morbid  fascination 
she  went  to  look  at  the  spot  where  he  had  hung  up  "  the 
war-brand,'7  a  half-burnt  stick  swaying  across  the  path,  sus 
pended  by  a  grapevine  —  an  open  declaration  of  hostilities, 
according  to  the  rules  of  Indian  war.  The  cruel  man  !  for 
as  he  had  slain  these  he  would  have  slain  her ;  and  the 
trouble  all  began  with  the  "  mad  young  men  "  who  counseled 
the  acceptance  of  the  red  scarf,  and  who  cared  for  naught 
save  that  the  Mingo  should  not  be  angered  and  that  they 
should  soon  go  to  war  again  with  the  British.  But  they  all 
blamed  her,  and  they  talked  and  talked  with  many  sharp 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  127 

words,  and  she  was  tired  of  all  mad  young  men,  who  were  a 
vain  and  a  vexatious  creation,  and  she  wished  to  see  none 
ever  again,  and  here  was  one  who  had  come  and  had  laid 
himself  at  her  very  door,  as  she  still  stood,  harely  discerned 
in  the  depths  of  the  cabin.  Whereupon  she  lifted  her  voice 
in  the  extremity  of  her  disfavor  and  asked  him  why  he  was 
not  burned  long  ago. 

The  tenor  of  the  question  roused  Laroche  to  his  nor 
mal  mental  attitude. 

Perhaps,  he  said  with  affected  humility  in  his  ignorance 
that  this  fate  had  seriously  menaced  him,  it  might  have  been 
that  in  view  of  the  debt  she  owed  him  she  had  seen  fit  to 
intercede  for  his  life.  Hence  he  had  not  yet  been  burned. 

This  politic  reply  brought  Eve  at  once  to  the  door. 
"  What  debt  ?  "  she  asked,  in  frowning  curiosity. 

Her  face  wore  a  strong  expression  of  racial  ferocity 
strangely  incongruous  with  feminine  physiognomy,  which 
reminded  Laroche  of  the  singular  fact  that  in  the  crisis  of 
the  most  exquisite  anguish  of  the  torture,  the  women  and 
children  were  permitted  and  rejoiced  to  flout  and  buffet 
and  sear  and  cut  and  aggravate  in  infinite  ingenuity  the 
woe  of  the  quivering  victim.  Even  thus  lowering  how 
ever,  she  was  not  devoid  of  beauty,  and  her  dress  betokened 
still  a  heedful  eye  to  the  values  of  decoration.  The  wings 
in  her  glossy  black  hair  were  alternately  the  red  of  the 
cardinal  bird  and  the  modest  brown  of  his  demure  little 
mate.  Her  doeskin  jupon  was  also  red,  dyed  deep  with  the 
blood-tinted  madder-root.  She  had  a  great  red  sash,  such 
as  a  pirate  might  wear  or  a  major-general.  Moy  Toy  had 
been  constrained  by  many  pleas  and  domestic  tyranny,  in  a 
sort,  to  confer  it  upon  her  from  the  store  of  presents  of  the 
French  pettiaugre  in  lieu  of  the  scarf  she  had  been  bidden 
to  restore  to  the  Choctaw  Mingo.  She  wore  it  like  a  volu 
minous  cross-belt  diagonally  about  her  body,  then  passed 
around  her  slender  waist.  Here  and  there  the  silk  had 


128  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

come  in  contact  with  her  smooth,  anointed  skin,  and  the 
unguents  had  streaked  the  sash  with  a  darker  hue.  Around 
her  neck,  which  the  arrangement  of  the  sash  made  visible, 
being  disposed  in  what  is  now  called  a  V  shape,  a  string  of 
white  pearls  lay  against  the  clear  olive  tint  of  her  throat  — 
the  gems  were  large  and  for  the  most  part  regularly  shaped. 
She  was  stringing  others,  which  had  been  pierced  for  the 
purpose  with  a  hot  copper  spindle  —  a  practice  which  the 
early  traders  sought  to  discourage  —  the  application  of  the 
heat  discoloring  the  gem,  diminishing  its  lustre,  and  spoiling 
its  value  for  the  European  market.  Her  feet  were  bare,  of 
an  exquisite  shape,  small,  slender,  most  delicately  made. 
He  had  hardly  dreamed  that  her  narrow,  liquid,  velvet-black 
eyes,  with  lashes  so  long,  so  straight,  they  seemed  to  cast  a 
shadow,  could  look  upon  any  object  with  a  stare  so  repellent, 
so  infuriated,  so  brutal. 

Before  he  could  answer  she  asked  another  question,  so 
dissimilar  that  he  was  at  a  loss  and  fumbled  for  a  reply. 

"  Where  is  your  hair  ?  " 

He  had  been  accounted  a  logician,  a  mighty  wrestler  with 
arguments,  even  a  subtle  trickster  with  words,  but  his  facil 
ity  was  never  so  alert  that  it  could,  without  bewilderment, 
make  a  leap  like  this. 

"  Oh  —  ah  —  my  hair  ?  Oh  —  they  took  off  my  hair  at 
the  trading-station  —  for  the  fever,  you  know." 

"  You  look  like  a  baby  —  a  grown-up  baby/7  she  said, 
surveying  with  objection  his  short  ringlets. 

"  My  hair  is  not  like  a  wig.  It  will  grow/7  he  said, 
with  his  gentle  gayety. 

"  Your  beautiful  clothes  are  at  the  state-house/7  she  ob 
served.  "  Tinegwa  wears  them  at  the  dance.'7 

For  his  life  Laroche  could  but  change  countenance.  So 
is  man,  the  civilized  creature,  artificialized  by  his  need  and 
custom  of  clothes  that  they  seem  actually  a  part  of  him. 
He  felt  the  indignity  as  a  personal  affront,  the  more  acutely 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  129 

since  he  had  not. fully  realized  his  danger  after  the  desertion 
of  him  by  Mingo  Push-koosh.  His  eyes  rested  on  the  soft 
shining  of  her  anointed  sash. 

"  Then  I  shall  wear  them  no  more,"  he  protested,  with 
covert  meaning.  "  Moy  Toy  and  I,"  he  resumed,  hasten 
ing  to  cloak  his  sarcasm  lest  her  keen  perception  discern 
it,  "  have  exchanged  all  our  clothes,  in  token  of  our  friend 
ship." 

She  gazed  at  him  steadily.  Such  swift,  radical  reversals 
of  policy  were  not  altogether  unknown  to  the  Indian  scheme, 
and  it  might  well  have  chanced  that  beyond  her  knowledge 
the  chieftain  and  his  captive  had  thus,  in  the  formal  and 
accepted  manner,  the  exchange  of  every  garment,  pledged 
and  ratified  a  reciprocal  fraternal  bond. 

Her  mood  was  gradually  softening.  She  came  forward 
a  few  steps,  pausing  once  in  the  sun  to  gaze  at  the  pearls 
she  held  in  her  slender,  deft  hand ;  then,  entering  the  over 
hanging  shadow  of  the  tree,  she  sank  down  in  an  easy 
kneeling  posture,  carefully  selected  and  threaded  a  pearl 
upon  a  horsehair  which  she  held  in  her  right  hand,  half 
a  dozen  of  the  gems  dangling  at  the  end  of  the  string,  and 
looking  up  straight  into  his  eyes,  asked  with  sudden  recur 
rence,  — 

"What  debt?" 

«  Oh  —  ah  —  to  be  sure  ;  why,  the  debt  of  your  life,"  said 
the  wily  Laroche.  "  But  for  me,  Moy  Toy  might  have 
given  you  in  marriage  to  the  Choctaw  prince,  who  had 
boasted  that  he  would  slay  you,  would  take  your  life,  being 
a  Cherokee  born,  should  the  two  tribes  fall  to  war  with  the 
English  and  the  French.  But  for  me  —  for  I  betrayed  his 
counsels  —  the  Choctaw  fiend  !  " 

Her  hand  trembled  ;  she  let  the  pearl  fall.  She  searched 
for  it  with  patient  diligence  and  a  deft  finger  in  the  green 
moss  where  it  glimmered  with  a  lunar  lustre.  When  she 
had  found  and  threaded  it  she  desisted  from  her  labor, 


130  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

although  she  still  held  the  loose  pearls  in  one  hand,  the 
partially  strung  thread  in  the  other. 

"  I  will  marry  no  one/'  she  said  apprehensively.  "  It 
is  very  dangerous." 

"It  is  very  dangerous  to  marry  Mingo  Push-koosh," 
assented  Laroche,  who  had  indeed  paid  dearly  for  his 
humanity. 

"  And  the  young  men  of  the  Cherokee  nation/'  —  she 
shook  her  head  deploringly.  "  Oh,  they  are  all  mad,  too, 
—  all  quite  mad  —  all  dangerous.  I  will  marry  no  more." 

She  looked  down  at  the  pearls  in  her  left  hand,  but  did 
not  resume  the  stringing  of  them. 

"  The  warrior  I  married  once,"  she  continued,  —  "  he  was 
older  and  very  good  —  and  brought  much  meat  from  the 
winter  hunt.  He  would  not  scold  with  a  woman  —  that 
was  beneath  a  warrior's  notice.  And  if  a  woman  wished 
to  scold,  she  might  go  and  talk  to  the  Tennessee  Biver.  It 
would  do  her  good  and  not  hurt  the  river,  and  her  husband 
would  not  be  obliged  to  leave  her.  He  was  very  good." 

She  gave  a  vague  glance  over  her  shoulder  into  the 
open  door  of  his  house.  Laroche,  hyper-sensitive  with  all 
his  recent  anxieties,  emotions,  sufferings  —  even  morbid  — 
had  an  uncomfortable  realization  that  deep  beneath  the  thick 
clay  floor  of  the  dwelling  the  dead  man  sat,  buried  so  close 
to  the  life  he  no  longer  lived,  so  intimately  associated  with 
the  possessions  he  no  longer  owned. 

The  Frenchman  affected  a  gayer  tone. 

"  But  all  young  men  are  not  mad.  Am  I  not  young  ? 
I  am  not  mad." 

She  evaded  the  answer.  "  At  their  gambols  they  may 
well  seem  mad.  One  does  not  expect  more  then.  But  in 
war,  in  council,  in  marriage,  it  is  not  well  that  young  men 
should  be  mad." 

"  The  gambols  of  various  nations  are  different,  as  with 
their  other  customs,"  remarked  Laroche  discursively.  "  But 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  131 

the  young  men  participating  are  much  alike.  I  have  seen 
a  game  of  the  Cherokees  in  which  the  young  men  seemed 
mad  —  oh,  very  mad  indeed." 

"  What  game  was  that  ?  "  Eve  demanded ;  for  in  spite  of 
her  aversion  to  those  bereft  young  persons,  and  her  stern 
determination  to  marry  no  more,  and  her  grateful  recollec 
tion  of  the  domestic  placidity  of  an  elderly  spouse,  her  in 
terest  in  the  "  mad  young  men  "  was  very  fresh  and  ever 
new,  and  easily  stimulated  to  a  discussion  of  their  unruly 
traits  and  peculiar  manners. 

"  Why,"  began  Laroche,  shifting  his  half  reclining 
posture,  that  he  might  support  his  head  upon  his  hand,  his 
elbow  deep  in  the  soft  turf,  while  he  watched  her  listen 
ing  face,  "what  would  you  say  if  I  should  tell  you  what 
happened  when  I  first  came  here  to  Tellico  Great  with  the 
Choctaw  embassy  ?  " 

A  slight  contraction  passed  over  her  features  always  at 
the  mention  of  the  delegation,  a  spasm  of  wrath,  of  remi 
niscent  terror,  of  indignant  and  wounded  pride  that  she,  a 
Cherokee  princess,  holding  a  line  of  royal  succession,  should 
ever  have  been  in  danger  of  uncaring  slaughter,  as  if  she 
were  a  beast,  at  the  hands  of  a  grossly  arrogant  Choctaw,  to 
whom  she  might  have  been  given  as  a  wife,  and  for  no 
more  provocation  than  that  she  had  been  born  a  Cherokee. 

"  What  would  you  say,  I  wonder,"  he  went  on  as  she 
bent  her  dark  eyes  anew  upon  him,  "  if  I  should  tell  you 
that  one  night  I  could  not  sleep  ;  I  had  had  dreams  that 
waked  me.  And  if  I  should  tell  you  that  I  rose  and  walked 
a  long  time  by  the  riverside  —  very  quietly,  wanting  to  wake 
no  one.  And  when  at  last,  refreshed  and  the  dream  forgot 
ten,  returning  within  view  of  the  stranger-house  —  where 
the  Mingo  and  his  Choctaw  escort  slept "  —  He  paused 
and  affected  to  laugh,  but  the  laughter  stuck  in  his  throat. 
"  The  maddest,  merriest  game  —  the  maddest  game  !  " 

She  was  leaning  forward,  her  eyes  shining  strangely,  the 


132  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

hand  that  held  the  thread  moved  mechanically,  beckoning, 
beckoning,  as  if  to  lure  forth  the  story;  the  other  hand, 
holding  the  pearls,  trembled  like  a  leaf. 

"  Around  and  around  the  house  was  circling  the  strangest 
procession  of  '  mad  young  men.'  Some  wore  buffalo  horns 
and  tails,  and  all  had  gourds  cut  like  faces,  with  torches 
inside,  on  their  heads ;  their  faces  were  painted  —  painted  ! 
And  one  like  a  panther  ran  on  all  fours  and  leaped  and 
leaped!"  — 

"  Ah — h — h  !  "  A  sudden  wild  scream  burst  from  her 
lips,  which  she  struck  with  the  palm  of  her  hand,  produ 
cing  a  sound  indescribably  nerve-thrilling,  and  which  he 
had  heard  from  braves  on  the  war-path.  "  The  spring  of 
Death !  "  she  cried  in  exultation.  And  again  the  wild 
scream  split  the  air.  "  No  game ;  no  game !  "  she  ex 
claimed  in  convulsive  precipitancy.  "  That  was  the  mock- 
rite,  the  funeral  procession,  of  those  they  meant  to  destroy 
—  and  oh,  I  wish  they  had  !  Why  did  they  not !  why  did 
they  not ! " 

Laroche's  face  was  as  pallid  as  the  baubles  in  her  hand. 

"  The  Choctaw  embassy  —  was  it  intended  to  massacre 
them  ?  " 

"  It  must  have  been  —  though  I  know  nothing  of  it. 
This  is  the  invariable  prelude  —  the  agreement  —  the  seal 
of  the  compact.  To  circle  three  times  round  the  house 
of  your  enemy,  if  one  rests  in  your  town,  as  if  it  were  the 
house  of  the  dead,  and  with  mock  and  flout  and  spells  to 
palsy  resistance,  and  with  lights  to  prove  the  path,  and  with 
knives  to  cut  the  pledge  of  friendship,  and  with  the  leaping 
Death  to  seize  them  by  the  throat  —  ah — h  !  —  ah — h !  " 


VII 

How  he  fared  on  his  return  to  loco  Town,  Laroche 
never  knew.  The  interval  of  his  transit  was  a  blank  in 
his  recollection.  He  was  only  aware  of  the  crisis  when  he 
plunged  out  of  the  encompassing  woods,  still  urging  the 
horse  to  a  wild  gallop,  lashing  him  at  every  bound  with  his 
cap,  in  default  of  a  whip,  which  he  had  lost,  when  or  where 
he  could  not  say. 

The  town  lay  before  him,  idealized  in  a  suffusion  of 
roseate  purpling  light  as  the  sun  was  going  down  beyond 
those  dark,  heavily  wooded  ranges  in  the  west  into  which 
the  mountain  plateau,  even  then  called  the  Cumberland, 
splits  at  its  southern  extremity.  The  eastern  loftier  heights, 
the  Great  Smoky,  bore  an  almost  visible  sentiment  of  peace 
on  their  slopes,  which  were  of  an  etherealized  azure  with 
a  reflection  of  the  red  west  in  the  suave  sky  above  their 
domes.  The  Cherokee  dwellings  were  all  solidly  dark 
against  the  fine,  delicate  intimations  of  color  in  the  opal 
escent  atmosphere.  Where  a  fire  was  glimpsed  in  the  "  be 
loved  square,"  the  red  and  white  and  yellow  of  the  blaze 
were  like  a  crude  overlay  of  coarse  pigment  on  some  ex 
quisite  mosaic.  The  figures  of  the  Indians  themselves 
in  groups  of  varied  aspect,  —  sundry  of  them  arrayed  in 
aboriginal  splendor,  feathered  and  mantled ;  others  almost 
nude  ;  still  again  others  clad  in  the  coarse  and  unpictur- 
esque  buckskin  shirt  and  leggings,  —  all  stood  as  if  petri 
fied  at  the  first  disordered  sound  of  the  wildly  galloping 
hoofs  of  the  horse.  They  watched  in  blank  surprise  the 
equestrian  apparition  speeding  across  the  open  spaces  until, 


134  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

hardly  pausing  in  front  of  the  trading-house,  Laroche 
flung  himself  from  the  saddle.  He  took  no  heed  to  se 
cure  the  creature.  With  the  reins  loose  on  his  neck  the 
horse,  amazed  at  this  unwonted  liberty  and  lack  of  care, 
reared  aimlessly  once  or  twice.  Then  motionless,  with  a 
gaze  of  obvious  surprise,  he  turned  to  look  after  his  eccen 
tric  rider,  who  had  burst  into  the  trading-house  with  his 
warning  of  the  danger  upon  his  lips,  that  all  who  cared 
might  hear  and  tremble.  No  more  would  he  trust  to  the 
foolhardiness  of  the  sturdy  trader,  who  had  weathered 
many  a  gale  of  disaffection,  signs  of  Indian  displeasure, 
rumors  of  massacres  impending,  and  threats  of  reprisal ;  nor 
to  the  young  Highland  soldier's  unquestioning  reliance  on 
the  superior  judgment  of  Jock  Lesly.  The  under-trader 
and  the  young  packmen  responded  as  alertly  with  fears 
and  precautions  as  Laroche  could  wish.  With  his  martial 
habitudes  reasserted  in  the  emergency,  Laroche  gave  the 
necessary  orders  with  such  dispatch,  such  decision,  such 
obvious  discrimination,  that  the  men,  discerning  their  value 
and  aware  that  none  other  of  the  group  could  have  ori 
ginated  the  plan,  as  instantly  obeyed  as  if  he  had  been 
a  military  superior  entitled  to  the  authority  he  wielded. 
Jock  Lesly,  coming  in  at  haphazard,  found  himself  a  mere 
supernumerary  in  his  own  trading-house,  where  his  word  had 
been  law.  He  stared  for  a  moment  with  stunned  surprise, 
and  then  at  last  and  after  so  long  a  time,  hearing  the  inter 
pretation  of  the  dream  he  had  derided,  he  began  to  admit 
to  himself  that  perhaps  more  mischief  was  brewing  in  the 
air  than  he  wot  of. 

"It's  the  French  — thae  kittle  cattle!"  he  exclaimed; 
"  I  wad  na  vex  mysel'  if  it  were  na  for  the  lassie." 

He  heard  with  deliberative  calmness  the  preparations 
which  Laroche  had  projected  for  the  defense  of  the  little 
colony,  which  he  instantly  began  to  detail,  so  eagerly,  so 
urgently,  that  amidst  the  tumultuous  words  there  came  to 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  135 

Jock  Lesly's  absorbed  sense  a  fact  which  he  remembered 
long  afterward  rather  than  noted  in  that  moment  of  crucial 
stress  —  a  vaguely  foreign  accent.  Now  he  only  marked 
the  features  of  the  plan,  and  his  strong  heart  was  buoyed 
up  by  its  hopefulness. 

"  Eh,  callant,"  he  cried ;  "  it  's  gey  gleg  ye  are  at 
this  wark  I  Ye  '11  no  hae  seen  foreign  service  for  nae- 
thing  I  » 

The  phrase  went  the  rounds  of  the  lads  who  stood  with 
their  lives  in  their  hands,  and,  though  loath  enough  to  yield 
them  in  this  petty  strife  that  had  not  even  a  fair  quarrel 
for  its  justification,  were  still  more  loath  to  yield  first  their 
strong  bodies,  endowed  with  stanchest  nerves,  to  furnish 
sport  to  the  Cherokees  in  the  delights  of  the  torture.  For 
eign  service  !  The  words  were  like  magic.  It  was  a  trained 
mind,  with  a  practiced  eye  and  an  experienced  judgment, 
that  disposed  their  pitiful  resources  to  the  best  advantage 
for  defense.  And  with  this  reassurance  these  resources 
hardly  seemed  so  pitiful. 

In  two  minutes  the  trading-house,  a  temple  of  peace  and 
built  without  the  customary  loopholes  for  musketry,  had 
half  a  dozen  sawn  through  each  of  the  stanch  walls,  save 
on  the  side  nearest  the  dwelling,  where  a  dozen  slits  were 
fashioned.  The  emporium  of  commerce,  being  a  long  and 
large  building  in  comparison,  commanded  it  on  three  sides. 
Around  the  home  in  the  early  days  of  its  occupation  a 
ditch  had  been  once  dug,  intended  to  drain  the  slope. 
This  was  still  deep  but  now  dry,  and  in  it  emergency  mines 
were  hastily  constructed  here  and  there  after  a  fashion 
which  Laroche  had  seen  in  practice  in  his  military  experi 
ence  in  Europe.  There  were  still  many  kegs  of  powder 
in  the  store,  a  quantity  of  tow,  numerous  rude  bags  and 
boxes  and  barrels,  half  emptied  or  altogether  thrown  aside. 
Of  these  boxes  and  barrels  he  hastily  contrived  fougasses, 
lining  them  with  tar  before  placing  in  each  a  heavy  charge 


136  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

of  powder.  The  energetic  plying  of  a  dozen  spades  soon 
covered  them  over  in  the  ditch,  and  several  were  sunken 
in  deeper  pits  with  gravel  and  boulders  to  fill  the  space  to 
the  surface.  He  himself  worked  diligently  with  great  deft 
ness  upon  sundry  long,  thin  bags  which  he  called  "  sau- 
cissons,"  fashioned  from  a  bolt  of  Jock  Lesly's  best  linen, 
filled  with  powder,  tarred  externally,  to  serve  as  fuses  to 
convey  fire  to  the  fougasses.  He  was  a  man  of  infinite 
expertness  and  a  genius  in  the  way  of  resource,  and  barri 
cades  for  doors  and  windows  were  soon  contrived  of  what 
ever  material  was  at  hand.  He  selected  the  guard,  the 
greater  number  of  the  packmen,  who  were  to  hold  out  the 
trading-house,  which,  with  its  outlook  and  its  loopholes, 
commanded  the  dwelling.  They  were  instructed  to  prevent 
any  possible  approach  by  picking  off  the  assailants  by  rifle 
fire,  or,  in  case  of  a  rush,  by  exploding  one  of  the  fougasses, 
the  saucissons  of  several  of  which  connected  with  the  store, 
the  others  with  the  dwelling  itself.  The  under- trader,  as 
vigorous,  devil-may-care,  hard-headed,  hard-handed,  hard 
hearted  a  backwoodsman  as  could  have  been  found  in  those 
rude  days,  was  to  take  command  of  the  detachment  in  the 
trading-house,  Jock  Lesly  himself,  Laroche,  Callum,  and 
two  of  the  packmen  undertaking  to  defend  the  dwelling. 
The  two  buildings  were  thus  enabled  to  afford  mutual  pro 
tection,  and  divide  the  numbers  and  break  the  force  of  the 
assault  by  the  Indians,  each  offering  the  garrison  of  the 
other,  in  case  of  extremity,  the  chance  of  a  refuge  in  flight. 
So  swift,  so  definite,  yet  so  simple  were  these  arrange 
ments  that  when  Moy  Toy  was  summoned  from  the  per 
plexities  of  his  consultations  with  the  headmen  of  loco  in 
the  great  council-house,  by  the  wild  alarum  from  the 
Indians  without  that  warlike  preparations  were  going  for 
ward  among  the  trader  folk,  he  found  these  precautions 
already  in  a  state  of  completion.  Laroche,  a  pickaxe  in 
his  hand,  advanced  to  meet  the  chief  as  he  came  toward 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  137 

the  dwelling  that  now  peered  at  him,  as  it  were,  suspi 
ciously  from  loopholes.  The  sounds  of  excitement  from 
the  square,  of  wild  cries  and  eager  words,  the  disorder  of 
swift,  flitting  figures  hither  and  thither,  the  clash  of  weap 
ons  and  the  hasty  tramp  of  feet,  all  implied  an  unusual  ac 
tivity  among  the  tribesmen.  They  too  were  getting  under 
arms,  but  were  distinctly  dismayed  to  find  themselves  sur 
prised  —  the  onset  they  had  planned  anticipated,  crippled, 
perhaps  even  to  be  repelled  by  forethought,  adequate  pre 
paration,  and  a  valiant  defense.  In  fact,  without  those 
tumultuous  concomitants  of  the  sudden  onslaught,  the 
stealthy  ambush,  the  surprise  of  treachery  in  conference, 
the  Indian  hardly  cared  to  fight.  And  although  they  were 
so  vastly  superior  in  numbers  that  calculation  of  odds  was 
impracticable,  they  were  aware  that  they  must  needs  suffer 
severely  from  the  fire  of  the  little  garrison,  whose  bullet 
proof  walls  would  hold  a  far  stronger  force  indefinitely  at 
bay.  Laroche  fixed  the  period  of  the  enterprise  when  he 
warned  Moy  Toy  and  the  chief  of  loco  Town,  advancing 
with  him,  to  come  no  further. 

"The  ground  is  mined  with  powder,"  he  explained. 
"  No  Indian  shall  come  one  pace  nearer.'7 

Moy  Toy  cast  an  upbraiding  glance  upon  his  companion. 
And  Laroche  knew  in  an  instant  that  his  discovery  of  the 
inimical  midnight  mummeries  and  the  suspicions  they  had 
aroused  had  been  the  subject  of  the  debate  in  the  town- 
house;  but  for  the  habitual  forbearance  of  the  Indians 
toward  one  another,  it  might  have  caused  an  open  rupture 
that  this  had  been  so  conducted  as  to  betray  their  plans. 
He  had  not  valued  the  pledge  of  the  Indian's  word,  but 
he  had  thought  that  Moy  Toy  realized  his  interest  was  in 
volved  in  keeping  his  promise  of  immunity  to  the  "  trader 
folk." 

Now  he  would  not  trust  to  this. 

"  I  have  read  my  dream,  Moy  Toy ! "  he  cried  trium- 


188  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

phantly.  "  Am  I  not  a  soothsayer  —  even  like  unto  an 
'  old  beloved  man '  myself  —  simple  as  I  stand  here  ?  " 

The  very  tones  of  his  sarcastic  voice,  ringing  so  jauntily 
on  the  air,  daunted  the  Indians,  so  assured,  so  inimical,  so 
subtly  menacing  his  laughter  was. 

From  the  loopholes  of  the  barricaded  trading-house  inter 
ested  faces  peered  out  to  witness  the  dumb  show  of  this 
colloquy,  the  speakers  being  so  distant  that  only  the  sound 
of  their  voices  was  distinguishable  j  the  men  at  their  sev 
eral  posts  commented  loudly  to  each  other.  "Eh,  sirs, 
hear  till  him,  now  !  "  "  Wow,  he  had  best  baud  a  care  !  " 
"  Moy  Toy  looks  gin  he  wad  bite,  the  fearsome  auld  carle  !  " 

Laroche  turned  as  the  two  Indians,  cautious,  mute, 
doubtful,  playing  the  waiting  game,  gazed  at  him.  He 
lifted  the  pickaxe  and  struck  it  upon  the  ground. 

"  Here,'7  he  cried,  drawing  the  implement  along  the 
earth  as  if  tracing  the  way,  "  walked  the  mock  mourners 

—  thrice  —  thrice  around  the   house  of  the  living,  as   if 
they  were  already  the  dead.    Following  came  the  bearers  of 
cords  and  chains,  with  charms  and  spells  to  hinder  resist 
ance.     And  so  —  the  lantern  bearer,  with  light  to  prove 
the  path.     And  him  with  the  knife,  to  cut  the  bonds  of 
plighted  faith  and  friendship.     And  then  the  leaping  Death 

—  quick  —  quick  —  to  seize  his  prey  !  " 

Between  each  mystic  sequence  of  this  ghastly  figurative 
array  Laroche  lifted  the  pickaxe  and  drew  a  stroke  along 
the  ground. 

The  two  chiefs  gazed  now  and  again  at  each  other  as  this 
recital  proceeded,  first  with  obvious  agitation,  giving  way  to 
sheer  wonder,  increasing  to  awe,  and,  as  the  idea  became 
more  accustomed,  to  a  fierce  anger  that  flashed  in  Moy 
Toy's  dark  eyes  like  lightnings  from  out  a  storm  cloud. 

"  Do  I  not  read  the  dream  aright  ?  "  Laroche  cried  at 
last,  leaning  on  the  pickaxe  and  surveying  them  with  a 
smile  of  glad  triumph,  infinitely  taunting. 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  139 

"  The  white  man  reads  no  Cherokee  dream,"  said  Moy 
Toy.  "  You  have  been  told  this.'7 

"The  great  chief  knows  all  things,"  flouted  Laroche; 
"I  have  been  told  it." 

The  two  Indians  looked  at  him  with  a  keen  expectancy 
that  meant  woe  indeed  to  the  traitor. 

"  The  river  whispered  it  in  my  ear.  I  read  it  in  the 
clouds.  The  winds  are  singing  it  in  the  pines  —  I  can  turn 
nowhere  that  it  does  not  cry  out  to  me  from  all  the  voices 
of  the  earth.  For  all  day  I  have  been  in  the  woods  — 
even  as  far  as  Great  Tellico  ;  your  good  horse  may  show 
my  speed,  Moy  Toy.  All  your  Cherokee  country  tells  it 
—  the  fair  land  that  was  to  have  been  rescued  from  the 
British,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  French  made  the  head  and 
front  of  an  independent  Indian  confederacy  of  a  dozen 
tribes !  " 

The  large  scope  of  this  harmonious  scheme  that,  could  it 
have  been  realized,  —  the  combination  of  the  tribes,  ever 
warring  against  each  other,  into  a  union  of  massed  strength 
against  the  colonies,  —  would  doubtless  have  worked 
mighty  changes  in  the  history  of  this  continent,  appealed 
to  the  breathless  hope  of  the  Cherokee  statesmen.  The 
chief  of  loco  Town  hastened  to  say  that  Laroche  was  the 
cherished  friend  of  the  tribe ;  the  town  of  loco  loved  to 
hold,  to  shelter  his  honored  head ;  he  was  indeed  deceived 
if  he  imagined  from  his  distorted  reading  of  dreams  of 
Indians  —  for  dream  Indians  were  mischievous  and  would 
not  appear  right  to  white  men,  and  thus  loved  to  delude 
them  —  that  the  Cherokees,  least  of  all  the  town  of  loco, 
sought  to  do  him  mischief ;  they  valued  too  greatly  hia 
promise  of  instruction,  the  assurances  he  had  brought  from 
his  government,  and  the  prospects  he  had  unfolded  of  that 
large  freedom  and  independence  he  would  teach  the  nation 
to  secure. 

"Those  prospects  are  as  nothing — as  a  mere  breath — as 


140  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

that  mist  before  the  moon  —  even  the  moon's  light  will 
scatter  it."  Laroche  glanced  up  at  the  great  disk  slowly 
rising  over  the  serrated  summit  line  of  the  gloomy  Smoky 
Mountains,  albeit  the  western  sky  was  yet  red  and  day 
lingered,  dusky  and  doubtful,  among  the  wigwams,  and  in 
the  opalescent  tints  of  the  river,  broken  here  and  there 
with  the  tumultuous  flashing  of  the  white  foam  against 
the  rocks. 

"  Nothing  will  I  promise  —  not  even  that  I  will  remain 
amongst  you." 

He  detected  a  significant  hardening  in  the  faces  of  the 
Indian  chiefs  —  a  sudden  tyrannous  gleam  in  the  eyes  of 
Moy  Toy. 

"  You  would  say  I  have  no  choice,  Moy  Toy."  He  took 
from  his  belt  a  pistol  —  a  fine  new  weapon,  secured  from 
Jock  Lesly's  own  armament  at  the  trading-house  —  primed 
and  loaded.  "I  hold  in  my  hand  the  opportunities  of  life 
and  death.  Unless  all  at  the  trading-station  go  in  peace, 
go  free,  and  I  myself  accompany  them  as  far  as  the  Keowee 
River,  I  will  not  remain  with  you."  Once  more  that  dan 
gerous  gleam  in  Moy  Toy's  eye.  "  I  will  place  this  at  my 
temple,"  he  held  the  muzzle  amidst  the  loosely  curling 
rings  of  his  light  brown  hair  and  deftly  touched  the  trig 
ger,  "  and  in  one  moment  your  league  with  the  great  French 
king  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  His  trusted  officer,  holding 
his  commission  and  acting  by  his  authority,  will  have  died 
in  your  country,  in  your  custody,  as  definitely,  in  his  esti 
mation,  slain  by  your  hand  as  if  your  hand  had  sped  the 
bullet." 

The  two  Cherokees,  obviously  at  a  loss,  gazed  at  each 
other  and  hesitated. 

"  Never  will  the  pettiaugres  ascend  your  demon-infested, 
rocky  rivers  —  never  will  the  barrier  towns  rise  above 
and  below  those  defiant,  malign  obstructions  and  secure  the 
passage  of  merchandise.  Your  vassalage  to  the  British  will 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  141 

be  an  accomplished  fact,  your  independence  a  dream  j  for 
I  who  am  sent  to  organize  your  armies  and  perfect  your 
plans  and  equip  your  warriors  for  defense  and  legitimate 
aggression  in  war  —  I  will  do  nothing  !  My  mission  is  at 
an  end,  unless  you  comply  with  my  conditions.  I  am  a 
soldier  and  no  murderer.  I  cannot  and  will  not  be  placed 
in  a  position  to  answer  to  the  British  colonial  authorities 
for  the  innocent  blood,  for  murder,  for  massacre.  I  said 
to  you  once  as  I  say  to  you  now  —  Let  the  traders  go ! 
They  shall  not  return  !  Then,  with  the  aid  of  the  French 
government,  I  will  put  into  the  field  an  army  of  Indian 
braves,  officered  by  French  experts  in  each  arm  of  the  ser 
vice,  and  the  very  name  of  it  shall  strike  more  terror  to  the 
hearts  of  the  perfidious  English  than  a  myriad  of  border 
massacres." 

Laroche  had  already  known  something  of  the  swift 
ness  with  which  the  crafty  savage  could  shift  ground,  but 
he  was  not  prepared  for  the  sudden  volte-face,  without 
a  glance  at  each  other  or  a  sign,  with  which  both  Moy 
Toy  and  the  chief  of  loco  began  to  protest,  albeit  in  de 
corous  fugue,  notwithstanding  their  haste,  —  it  being  a 
standing  joke  among  the  Indians,  a  matter  of  perennial  ridi 
cule,  that  the  white  people  would  talk  at  the  same  time 
or  interrupt  one  another  so  that  none  could  be  distinctly 
heard.  The  two  chiefs  instantly  declared  that  they  would 
respect  his  words  and  abide  by  his  promises,  which  they 
cherished  like  the  blood  of  their  own  hearts.  They  ad 
mitted  that  they  ought  earlier  to  have  told  him  the  truth 
—  which  for  shame  they  wished  to  conceal,  —  that  only 
the  mad  young  men  of  the  town  had  conceived  the  ignoble 
scheme  of  revenge  for  some  trivial  insults  which  they 
fancied  had  been  offered  them  by  the  young  packmen  — 
themselves  hardly  less  insane  than  the  bereft  young  braves. 
They  had  been  reproved  for  their  midnight  mummeries  and 
their  threats  thus  expressed,  and  when  opportunity  should 


142  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

offer,  after  the  departure  of  the  trader  and  his  pack-train, 
the  offenders  should  be  dry-scratched. 

The  Frenchman  duly  appraised  the  insincerity  of  all  this. 
He  well  understood  that  the  plea  of  the  misdoings  of  their 
"  mad  young  men,"  so  frequently  urged,  was  now,  as  often 
before,  merely  their  scapegoat,  designed  to  bear  the  burden 
of  the  mischievous  device  of  the  headmen,  which  some 
change  of  policy  or  mischance  in  execution  caused  them 
to  abandon.  He  hardly  cared,  however,  to  challenge  their 
motive,  since  it  tended  to  promote  the  result  he  desired  to 
foster,  —  the  peaceful  withdrawal  of  the  trader's  household. 
He  stood  decorously  listening,  with  a  face  of  suave  acqui 
escence,  until,  in  the  midst  of  their  antiphonal  series  of 
excuses  and  explanations,  the  chiefs  stated,  among  their 
reasons  for  concealing  the  alleged  comparatively  innocuous 
source  of  the  demonstration,  that  they  had  refrained  from 
telling  him  this  lest  he  might  esteem  his  own  life  insecure 
among  such  an  uproarious,  ill-conditioned  troop  as  their 
mad  young  men,  and  thus  desire  to  leave  them. 

Laroche,  at  the  imputation,  could  but  laugh  aloud  in  his 
martial  consciousness  of  courage.  The  tact  of  the  Indians 
instantly  perceived  the  false  step. 

They  knew,  they  protested,  the  great  bravery  of  the 
French  officer,  for  no  fear  had  he  !  His  heart  was  so  strong 
as  even  to  make  him  contemplate  taking  his  own  life,  merely 
should  his  plans  be  crossed.  This  they  besought  that  he 
would  consider  no  more,  for  they  only  desired  to  know 
his  mind,  that  they  might  comply  with  his  every  thought. 
Still  he  might  well  deem  that  their  wild  young  men  could 
hardly  be  brought  under  reasonable  authority,  that  they 
could  be  made  the  instruments  of  winning  and  wielding 
such  an  independence  as  he  had  planned  for  the  splendid 
future.  If  he  would  but  observe,  he  should  see  how  plastic 
to  command  they  could  become,  how  rightful  authority 
should  reduce  their  turbulence  and  their  clamors. 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  143 

And  indeed  as  they  swarmed  over  the  dusky  "beloved 
square  "  and  through  the  spaces  among  the  shadowy  cabins 
and  wigwams  and  along  the  bank  of  the  river,  still  red 
under  the  vague  dream  light  of  the  faintly  tinted  sky,  the 
wild  excitement  that  had  pervaded  the  tumultuous  groups 
subsided  upon  the  instant  on  the  reappearance  of  the  chiefs 
among  them ;  whether  a  word,  a  look,  a  sign  wrought  the 
miracle  one  could  hardly  say.  Laroche,  standing  gazing 
after  his  late  interlocutors,  could  but  admire  the  address 
with  which  they  had  selected  the  occasion  of  their  with 
drawal,  —  not  that  they  had  been  faced  down  by  argument, 
nor  that  their  virulent  threats  were  overborne  by  counter- 
threats,  nor  that  their  scheme  was  again  proved  foolish, 
futile,  fatal  to  their  own  future  prospects,  but  only  to  de 
monstrate  how  amenable,  how  subject  to  lawful  authority 
were  these  very  "mad  young  men  "  when  adequate  necessity 
caused  it  to  be  exerted.  It  seemed  incredible  how  promptly 
all  the  aspects  of  peace  were  renewed.  The  long,  lustrous, 
slanting  rays  of  the  moon,  soon  falling  athwart  the  town, 
penetrating  the  dusky  aisles  among  the  Indian  dwellings 
under  the  drooping  boughs  of  the  gigantic  trees,  flashing 
upon  the  foam  of  the  river,  or  resting  in  full,  unbroken 
placidity  on  the  "  beloved  square,"  scarcely  showed  the 
shadow  of  a  quiver,  or  a  firelock,  or  the  flicker  of  a 
feathered  head.  Now  and  again  the  quiet  echoed  to  the 
measured  footfall  of  a  sedate  passer-by.  An  open  door  here 
and  there  might  reveal  a  group  about  a  fire  where  fish  were 
frying  for  supper,  and  gossip  was  still  stirring  about  the 
events  of  the  day.  Dogs  clustered  around  the  door  and 
begged  with  all  the  insidious  canine  wiles  of  their  kindred 
of  civilization.  The  council-house,  dome-like  in  its  eleva 
tion  on  its  mound  above  the  town,  was  lighted  by  a  party 
of  young  people  setting  forward  some  of  their  usual  even 
ing  games  or  pantomimes  for  the  general  diversion.  The 
two  chiefs,  respectively  of  Tellico  and  loco,  had  parted  as 


144  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

if  nothing  more  of  importance  were  to  be  discussed,  and 
Moy  Toy,  in  the  public  office,  as  it  were,  the  cabin  of  the 
aged  councilors,  deserted  but  for  two  or  three  of  its  fre 
quenters,  was  talking  over  old  times  of  hunting  and  fishing 
and  was  telling  a  tale  of  piscatorial  captures  which  could 
hardly  be  matched  even  in  these  days  of  expanded  imagina 
tions,  —  his  civil  hosts  now  and  again  constrained  to  laugh 
with  guttural  remonstrance,  or  to  interject  an  incredulous 
comment,  "  Ugh  !  Ugh  !  » 

At  the  trading-house,  lights  flickered  within,  but  the  bar 
ricaded  doors  continued  closed.  The  little  garrison  were  to 
sleep  upon  their  arms  in  view  of  possible  treachery  in  some 
lapse  of  vigilance.  Even  thence,  however,  came  loud,  jest 
ing  voices,  and  now  and  again  hilarious  snatches  of  song  j 
all  were  very  mirthful  and  with  a  renewed  sense  of  security 
under  the  double  safeguard  of  adequate  precaution  against 
surprise  and  the  apparent  satisfaction  and  pacification  of  the 
Cherokees. 

In  the  next  few  days  preparations  for  an  early  and  orderly 
departure  were  seriously  inaugurated.  It  was  not  so  much 
in  advance  of  the  usual  time  for  the  semiannual  journey  to 
Charlestown  for  the  demonstration  to  augur  undue  fear  of 
the  Indians  or  to  seem  prompted  by  the  recent  suspicious 
events.  With  an  apparent  hardihood,  that  was  yet  the 
craft  of  caution,  Jock  Lesly  more  than  once  postponed  the 
date  for  the  flitting,  openly  alleging  the  reason  for  the  delay : 
now  it  was  the  legitimate  one  of  awaiting  a  consignment  of 
deerskins  which  he  had  been  notified  was  to  be  sent  from 
Toquoe ;  now  it  seemed  that  a  purely  arbitrary  wish  of  his 
own  induced  him  to  dispatch  a  messenger  on  a  long  wild- 
goose  chase  for  a  conference  with  an  Indian  friend  of  auld 
lang  syne,  for  whom  he  had  undertaken  a  personal  com 
mission  to  make  sundry  purchases  in  Charlestown,  —  which 
gear,  when  described  from  the  aboriginal  point  of  view, 
was  found  to  have  no  counterpart  in  the  material  world ; 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  145 

indeed  the  demand  for  it  was  prompted  in  the  full  faith  that 
whatever  wish  the  heart  of  man  could  fashion  the  great  mart 
could  furnish  forth.  The  remonstrances  sent  on  a  second 
trip  by  the  runner  were  productive  only  of  very  guarded 
modifications  in  the  requisites,  and  all  loco  Town,  in  its  ex 
cess  of  sophistication,  was  laughing  both  at  the  simplicity  of 
the  old  Indian  of  remote  Kanootare  Town  —  who  had  never 
been  as  far  as  the  Congarees,  and  who  looked  upon  Jock 
Lesly  as  a  master  magician  in  the  mechanical  arts  —  and 
at  the  kindly  worry  and  fret  of  the  trader  himself. 

"  Heard  ever  onybody  the  like  o'  that  —  the  daft  auld 
carle  !  And  where  am  I  to  find  sic  gear  ?  And  am  na  I 
a  fule  to  try  ?  A  hammer,  that  suld  hae  a  gun,  like  a 
pistol,  in  the  eend,  wi'  a  sharp  knife  for  skelpin'  that  clasps 
under  —  sae  he  '11  be  aye  ready  for  wark  or  war.  Ding  it 
a',  I  '11  no  fash  mysel'  !  " 

As  he  strode  about  the  place  and  discussed  the  absurdity 
with  the  various  braves,  all  seeking  to  recognize  some  mod 
ern  and  simpler  invention  in  the  mists  of  his  elaborate 
instructions,  and  the  Indians  came  and  went  from  the  trad 
ing-house  and  loitered  about  its  recesses  with  the  young 
packmen,  all  in  complete  and  obvious  amity,  there  was  not 
the  vaguest  suggestion  of  the  antagonism  that  had  threatened 
the  destruction  of  the  little  party.  The  idea  seemed  a  flout 
to  credulity.  Jock  Lesly  again  doubted  its  reality  at  times. 
"  Hegh,  lad,"  he  said  to  Laroche,  "  ye  hae  gie  us  an  unco 
stirrin'.  I  wad  na  tak  a  gliff  at  a  potato-bogle.  It 's  ower 
easy  to  be  frighted." 

For  Laroche,  albeit  aware  how  thin  was  this  crust  of 
peace  that  overlay  the  seething,  fiery  crater  of  conspiracy  and 
murder,  was  forced  to  run  the  gauntlet  in  some  sort,  —  to 
be  the  butt  of  the  ridicule  which  the  harbinger  of  danger 
that  does  not  materialize  always  is  called  upon  to  suffer. 
Now  and  again  he  encountered  this  among  the  young  pack 
men  poking  fun  in  a  sly  way.  The  high  value  which  they 


146  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

had  set  upon  his  views  because  of  his  experience  in  actual 
encounters  in  the  continental  wars,  in  which  he  stated  he 
had  served,  seemed  suddenly  inverted,  and  for  this  very  rea 
son  his  measures  were  derided.  It  was  a  point  of  almost  reli 
gious  exaction  in  those  days,  as  indeed  sometimes  in  these, 
to  decry  the  regular  soldier  in  aggrandizing  the  militia  or 
the  volunteer,  on  the  somewhat  absurd  hypothesis  that  the 
entire  devotion  of  a  man's  time  to  a  pursuit  renders  him 
necessarily  inexpert  at  it,  or  that  the  more  one  learns  of 
military  science  the  less  one  knows.  Whether  this  comes 
about  from  the  instinctive  arrogation  of  the  civilian  that  he 
is  as  fit  in  a  fight  as  any  man,  and  knows  by  intuition  all 
that  the  soldier  learns  by  hard  knocks,  it  is  one  of  the 
dearest  delusions  of  the  popular  mind  and  is  not  to  be 
lightly  trifled  with.  Laroche  must  needs  have  been  more 
the  diplomat  and  less  the  soldier  than  he  was  to  have  per 
ceived  this  spirit  without  the  usual  snorting  indignation  and 
sentiment  of  baffled  wonder  at  the  presumption  of  the  com 
parison.  But  it  is  of  that  grade  of  intimate  persuasion  in 
which  argument  or  any  certainty  of  demonstration  is  futile, 
and  like  other  military  men  earlier  and  since  he  permitted 
it  to  pass  unchallenged,  with  a  secret  scorn  and  a  mocking 
acquiescence.  It  was  only  in  the  presence  of  Lilias  that 
he  winced  under  this  derision,  knowing  that  but  for  him 
the  whole  trading-station  would  be  in  ashes,  its  embers 
quenched  with  the  blood  of  its  inmates.  Yet  in  the  same 
instant  he  was  saying  to  himself  that  her  presence  should 
be  naught  to  him,  and  that  this  guying  was  a  trifle. 

How  could  her  presence  be  naught,  when  across  the  sup 
per  table  the  tiny  flame  of  the  candle  showed  her  blue  eyes 
kindling  like  sapphires  ? 

"  Ou,  ay,  ay/'  —  her  father  was  answering  Callum's  in 
quiry, —  "Tarn  is  gaun  wi'  us  —  Tarn  's  gaun  to  haud  a 
care  o'  us,  —  gin  he  no  taks  to  dreamin'  agen !  "  He  stopped 
his  chuckle  with  half  a  scone. 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  147 

Lilias  had  risen  and  turned  away,  for  Callum  Macllvesty 
wanted  more  parritch  and  Laroche  had  matter  other  than 
Jock  Lesly's  clumsy  jest  to  canvass  in  secret  agitation. 
That  blue,  jeweled  light  in  her  starry  eyes  —  was  it  set 
aglow  because  the  day  of  parting  seemed  yet  distant  ?  — 
how  could  he  care  for  the  trader's  flout ! 

The  next  day  he  had  in  some  sort  a  revenge  for  his  in 
stallation  as  laughing  stock.  He  had  repeatedly  cautioned 
the  young  packmen  against  the  lurking  dangers  of  the  fou- 
gasses  which  he  had  connected  with  the  trading-house  for 
its  defense.  There  had  supervened  so  general  a  scorn  of 
the  warning,  the  menace  —  even  the  sight  of  the  Indian 
town  under  arms  had  been  apparently  only  the  reflex  of 
their  own  acts  of  hostility  —  that  the  emergency  mines 
seemed  but  a  part  of  the  whole  invalid  hoax  until  a  stout, 
red-haired  young  packman,  striking  his  flint  hard  by,  com 
municated  a  spark  to  a  saucisson,  and  upon  the  consequent 
explosion  of  the  fougasse  he  was  tossed  like  a  feather  into 
the  air  and  had  three  fingers  blown  off.  The  ground  for 
several  yards  was  ripped  open  as  if  the  ditch  had  never  been 
filled,  and  the  crags  and  chasms  of  the  mountains  rang  and 
rang  with  the  successive  reverberations  of  the  detonation. 

Great  as  was  the  commotion  among  the  trading  folk,  the 
incident  was  as  a  revelation  to  the  Indians.  Almost  palsied 
by  terror,  as  in  some  stupendous  convulsion  of  nature,  they 
no  sooner  comprehended  the  agency  of  the  disaster  than 
their  anxiety  was  increased  twofold.  At  this  period,  al 
though  the  use  of  firearms  was  general  among  them  and 
the  ancient  bow  and  arrow  were  superseded,  save  in  cases 
of  necessity,  gunpowder  was  as  yet  an  unaccustomed  force 
except  as  confined  to  musketry.  They  still  entertained 
great  terror  of  artillery,  and  the  effects  of  powder  in  mining 
and  in  so  large  a  quantity  seemed  little  short  of  miraculous. 
Seeing  the  trader's  band  presently  clustered  about  the  scene 
of  the  disaster,  several  of  the  savages  ventured  to  approach, 


148  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

suspiciously  sniffing  the  sulphur  laden  air  and  eyeing  the 
deep  chasm  in  the  ground  with  a  grave,  tentative  aspect 
and  a  sort  of  serious  disaffection,  which  was  in  itself  a  most 
portentous  threat.  It  seemed  to  argue  that  scarcely  any 
advantage  was  to  be  neglected  against  people  who  could 
bring  to  their  aid  so  potent  an  auxiliary  of  destruction  as 
this.  Evidently  the  town  itself  might  be  thus  destroyed. 
The  Indians  began  to  walk  about  the  pit,  gazing  down  at 
it  with  the  sort  of  averse  appropriation  which  one  feels 
toward  aught  of  menace  designed  with  a  personal  applica 
tion.  They  measured  the  inimical  capacities  of  the  f  ougasse, 
dwelling  upon  the  intention  of  its  device,  and  obviously  felt 
that  anger  experienced  when  one  heartily  takes  the  ill  will 
for  the  deed.  Their  state  of  mind  was  all  at  once  so 
rancorous  that  albeit  the  explosion  of  the  fougasse  was 
only  another  indication  of  the  strength  of  the  defenses  and 
the  value  of  the  resources  of  the  white  man,  and  thus 
would  seem  to  reinforce  the  dangers  of  attack,  the  fact  that 
it  was  planned  to  carry  death  and  destruction  to  them, 
who  had  as  yet  given  no  overt  cause  of  offense  and  failed 
in  naught  of  open  friendship,  was  as  a  challenge  to  strategy, 
invited  reprisal,  and  made  vain  all  protestations  of  good 
will. 

"  Eh,  we  maun  be  gangin'  the  morn's  morn,"  said  Jock 
Lesly,  wiping  his  brow  with  his  great  red  handkerchief, 
and  gazing  down  from  the  window  of  the  spence  at  the 
curious  crowds  that  came  and  looked  silently  upon  the 
snare  —  riven  and  exploded  and  harmless  now  —  that  yet 
had  been  laid  for  them. 

"  An'  what  for  no  ?  "  cried  Lilias  impatiently.  "  Ye  're 
aye  sayin'  '  we  maun  be  gangin'  an'  we  maun  be  gangin',' 
an'  we  aye  bide  here  !  " 

"  Whist,  whist,  my  bairn."  Then  perceiving  some  incon 
sistency,  "  The  deil  's  in  the  wimmen  folk  !  "  Jock  Lesly 
cried  indignantly.  "  'T  was  only  yesterday  sennight  that 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  149 

ye  sat  greetin'  on  your  creepie  an'  said  your  heart  was  sair 
to  leave  thae  grand  mountains,  —  an'  go  ye  wad  na !  " 

The  girl  laughed  slyly.  So  dull  he  was !  So  well,  too, 
for  a  father  to  be  dull,  when  he  had  "sic  a  fule  "  for  a 
daughter.  She  suddenly  grew  grave  and  blushed  with  a 
deep,  serious,  conscious  glow.  She  had  caught  Macllves- 
ty's  eyes,  bright,  alert,  with  a  world  of  speculation  in  them 
as  they  were  fixed  upon  her  face.  Could  it  be  that  he  con 
nected  her  sudden  change  of  will  with  the  fact  that  on 
that  tearful  yesterday  sennight  she  had  not  known  that 
mad  Tarn  Wilson  was  to  join  their  march  ?  For  he  had 
since  announced  that,  designing  to  return  to  Virginia,  he 
would  accompany  the  trader's  cavalcade  as  far  as  the  Keo- 
wee  River,  —  a  great  detour  and  much  out  of  his  way. 


VIII 

NOT  only  Tarn  Wilson,  but  Moy  Toy  himself,  Quorinnah, 
a  dozen  braves  from  Tellico,  and  as  many  more  of  loco  Town 
joined  the  escort,  the  Cherokee  headmen  having  become 
impressed  definitely  with  the  idea  that  their  interest  was 
essentially  involved  in  keeping  faith  with  Laror.he. 

An  early  start  was  made  the  morn's  morn.  The  night 
had  not  yet  revealed  the  aspect  of  the  day,  whether  fair 
or  foul ;  the  world  was  sunk  in  darkness  and  swathed  in 
mists.  Now  and  again,  glancing  upward,  one  might  see  a 
star,  augury  that  the  sky  was  clear,  and  then  the  web  of 
vapor  annulled  the  scintillation  and  portended  the  gather 
ing  of  clouds.  Torches  were  here,  there,  everywhere,  flar 
ing  through  the  gloom.  The  gable  of  the  little  home 
would  show  for  a  moment  as  one  sped  past,  and  anon  would 
collapse  into  the  similitude  of  a  burly  shadow.  The  trad 
ing-house  stood  forth  with  continuous  distinctness ;  the 
light  within  streamed  through  the  open  doors  as  the  final 
preparations  of  departure  were  in  progress.  It  gave  bizarre 
glimpses  of  the  heavily  laden  train  of  horses  standing  — 
shadowy  equine  figures  —  outside,  with  now  and  again  one 
of  the  packmen  moving  in  the  midst,  readjusting  a  burden 
or  examining  the  strength  of  the  girths.  In  the  chill  matu 
tinal  air  the  bells  on  the  animals  gave  out  a  keen  jangling, 
—  all  the  clamors  of  the  raucous  voices  of  the  packmen 
crying  here  and  there ;  the  noisy  movement  of  bales  and 
boxes  scraping  upon  the  floors  or  against  each  other;  the 
thud  of  pawing  hoofs ;  the  swift  beat  of  human  footsteps 
to  and  fro  were  punctuated  by  this  continual,  metallic 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  151 

vibration,  which  somehow  was  jarring  to  the  senses  and 
added  a  distinct  element  of  confusion.  Albeit,  with  the 
expectation  of  immediate  departure,  the  preparations  were 
deemed  complete  the  night  before,  still,  when  the  actual 
moment  was  at  hand,  it  seemed  that  all  was  yet  to  be  done 
—  after  the  perverse  manner  of  a  journey's  start.  Trifles 
developed  into  obstacles;  obstacles  became  immovable;  the 
impracticable  asserted  its  inelastic  limitations ;  and  through 
out  was  heard,  from  time  to  time,  Jock  Lesly's  half  pater 
nal,  half  petulant,  admonitory  upbraiding,  "  Oh  fie !  —  oh 
fie!" 

Occasionally  he  quitted  the  precincts  of  the  trading-house, 
leaving  the  solution  of  its  problems  to  his  lieutenants,  and 
plunged  into  the  more  dusky  and  shadowy  domain  of  his 
own  dwelling,  where,  however,  he  acquired  no  placidity, 
for  now  and  again  his  favorite  adjuration  issued  thence, 
invested  with  a  sort  of  pathetic  intonation  of  futility  and 
associated  with  the  name  of  Lilias.  "  Callum,"  he  would 
yell  from  the  door  in  despair,  "Lilias  winna  ride  ahint 
ye  on  the  pillion  !  "  Then  his  stentorian  roar,  relaxing  to 
domestic  exhortation  to  the  rebel  of  the  interior,  seemed  in  the 
distance  a  mere  rumble  of  " Oh  fie  !  "  in  conscious  defeat; 
he  would  lift  his  voice  anon  as  he  was  beaten  back  from 
one  line  of  defense  to  another,  "  Callum,  Lilias  winna  ride 
ahint  me  on  the  pillion !  " 

Callum's  face,  half  seen  in  the  flare  from  the  door,  grew 
set  and  hard,  as  he  stood  saddling  with  his  own  well- 
descended  hands  the  palfrey  destined  to  bear  the  weight  of 
the  trader's  daughter.  His  action  was  significant,  whether 
or  not  it  was  observed.  He  had  begun  to  take  the  pillion 
off —  since  she  would  accompany  neither  him  nor  her  father 
she  should  not  ride  behind  the  saddle  of  Tarn  Wilson,  if 
that  were  her  object.  The  other  men  looked  at  one  an 
other,  laughing  slyly,  with  a  certain  relish  in  the  pater 
nal  discomfiture  and  the  hardiness  of  the  young  insurgent, 


152  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

rejoicing  in  the  ultimate  victory  of  "little  lassie  Lilias,"  after 
the  manner  of  those  who  are  indulgent  to  the  whims  and 
desirous  of  forwarding  the  power  of  a  spoiled  and  imperious 
child  —  out  of  their  own  household.  They  discerned  no 
thing  more  serious  in  the  discussion,  but  Tarn  Wilson,  busy 
in  the  group,  was  obviously  expectant. 

A  longer  interval  of  argument  and  remonstrance  ensued. 
Then  the  great  voice,  with  a  hapless  quaver  in  its  tones 
issued  forth  anew. 

"  Calluni,  Callum  !  Lilias  winna  ride  on  the  pillion  at  a'. 
Lord  save  us !  The  lassie  vows  she  maun  hae  a  tall  horse 
all  for  her  nainseP  —  oh  fie  !  oh  fie !  " 

He  was  fairly  beaten,  for  time  was  against  him,  and  he 
must  needs  come  out  and  see  to  the  getting  of  his  convoy 
together.  Again  and  again  in  the  extremity  of  his  despair 
he  protested  that  night  would  find  them  still  hirpling  about 
loco  Town.  But  the  first  long  slant  of  the  sun  met  the 
pack-train  in  full  march,  descending  one  of  those  steep  de 
files  among  the  mountains  and  the  swirls  of  the  Tennessee 
Eiver,  and  the  wind  itself  was  not  more  blithe  and  free  and 
fain  to  travel.  The  pack-horses  swung  in  single  file  along 
the  familiar  ways  of  the  old  trading-path,  now  at  a  brisk 
trot,  now  carefully  treading  a  ledge  whence  a  false  step 
would  precipitate  the  creatures  into  the  torrents  below,  with 
out  rein  or  guidance  selecting  their  footing  and  balancing 
their  burden  with  that  strong  animal  intelligence  and  good 
will  in  labor  which  might  seem  to  entitle  them  to  be  consid 
ered  conscious  factors  in  the  commercial  enterprise.  Their 
chiming  bells,  blithely  echoing  from  the  crags,  now  loud, 
now  softly  vibrating,  as  the  tones  of  those  in  the  vanguard  or 
far  away  in  the  rear  came  to  the  ear,  made  no  dissonance  in  the 
free  open  air  in  their  diversity  of  quality,  and  smote  upon  the 
dash  of  waters  with  the  effect  of  sudden  cymbals  in  the  flut- 
ings  and  stringed  vibrations  of  orchestral  music.  The  mist 
had  taken  wings.  Far  and  near  the  airy  essences  were 


A   SPECTEE   OF  POWER  153 

rising  from  the  mountains.  The  morning  star,  luminous, 
splendid,  in  her  amber  cloud,  exhaled  like  a  dewdrop  in 
the  glance  of  the  sun.  The  spirit  of  May  was  in  the  air. 
The  alert  breeze  had  a  keen,  matutinal  reviviscence,  despite 
the  languors  of  spring,  and  upon  the  mountains  was  a  vague, 
blue  presence,  an  efflorescence  of  haze  like  the  bloom  on  a 
grape,  that  made  their  tint  deeper,  richer,  softer,  whether 
it  were  the  azure  of  the  furthest  reaches  of  vision  or  the 
sombre  purple  of  the  nearer  ranges,  or  the  densely,  darkly 
verdant  slopes  closing  about  the  immediate  vicinage  of  the 
series  of  cup-like  coves. 

In  the  distinct  light  the  convolutions  of  the  train  became 
easily  discernible  to  the  eye,  as  from  lower  ground  one 
could  look  back  up  the  winding  slopes  of  the  ravine,  so 
narrow  at  times  as  to  leave  a  passage  but  for  two  or  three 
abreast.  Several  of  the  stoutest  men,  fully  armed,  rode  in  the 
vanguard,  and  after  the  pack  animals  and  their  drivers  came 
another  close  squad  of  horsemen,  for  owing  to  the  packmen 
that  Callum  Macllvesty  had  brought  with  him,  the  guard  of 
the  pack-train  was  more  numerous  than  it  was  wont  to  be. 
A  salient  feature  of  the  long,  winding  troop  was  the  waving 
feathers  of  the  braves,  themselves  riding  together,  for  albeit 
most  friendly  of  aspect,  it  was  deemed  meet  that  they  and 
the  young  packmen  should  have  as  scant  opportunity  as 
might  be  to  fall  at  loggerheads. 

"  They  can't  talk  thegither,  praise  God  !  "  said  Jock  Lesly, 
who  had  had  little  thought  he  should  ever  be  in  case  to 
be  thankful  for  the  impiety  of  the  builders  of  the  Tower 
of  Babel,  that  had  brought  about  the  confusion  of  tongues. 
"  But  they  are  a7  kittle  cattle,  and  I  'se  no  trust  them  the 
gither." 

As  he  himself  rode  between  the  packmen  and  the  Chero 
kee  braves,  his  own  companions  were  Moy  Toy  and  Quo- 
rinnah,  who  had  attached  themselves  to  the  chief  of  the 
expedition  as  their  only  equal  in  point  of  rank.  He  had 


154  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

anticipated  this  and  had  directed  Callum  to  ride  at  the 
bridle  rein  of  Lilias,  whose  station  was  between  the  squad 
of  extra  packmen  and  the  drivers  of  the  pack-train.  Tarn 
Wilson  had  no  place  assigned  to  him  in  the  line  of  march. 
He  was  aware,  when  he  took  up  his  position  on  the  other 
side  of  her  palfrey,  that  he  might  seem  animated  by  a  senti 
ment  far  alien  to  the  spirit  of  resignation  and  renunciation 
that  had  lately  possessed  him,  but  in  reality  he  was  influenced 
by  the  knowledge  of  the  added  protection  his  proximity 
afforded  her.  Nevertheless,  with  the  satisfaction  of  their 
safe  departure,  which  he  knew  his  own  exertions  had  se 
cured,  the  keen  edge  of  exhilaration  and  expectancy  that 
dangers  still  unmasked  may  give,  the  necessity  to  support 
the  character  he  had  assumed,  the  delirious  joy  that  her 
presence  and  his  knowledge  of  her  preference  could  but 
diffuse  through  mind  and  heart,  all  overcame  for  a  time  his 
sense  of  regret  for  his  idle  delay,  his  disloyalty,  his  dupli 
city.  He  forgot  the  futile  cruelty  to  Callum  Macllvesty, 
and  the  disingenuousness  toward  her ;  and  the  identity  of 
Tarn  Wilson,  which  he  claimed  as  his  own  true  character, 
was  never  more  definite,  more  consistent  than  as  he  fared 
gayly  by  her  side  down  the  devious  ways  of  the  mountain 
wilderness.  The  tinkling  of  the  bells  and  the  chiming  of 
the  echoes  were  in  his  ears.  He  breathed  the  fragrance 
that  the  herbs  of  the  earth  distilled  into  the  rare  air;  the 
colors  of  the  landscape  glowed  so  rich,  so  fine,  so  fair ;  and 
all  the  heart  of  a  beautiful  woman  who  loved  him  was  in 
her  eyes  as  she  looked  at  him. 

It  was  plain  to  Callum  Macllvesty,  and  Lilias  scarcely 
cared  that  it  was.  She  had  no  realization  of  him  save 
that  his  words,  his  face,  his  very  existence  irked  her,  and 
she  would  fain  be  rid  of  him  —  being  in  the  nature  of  an 
interruption  of  the  free  thought  of  another.  He  wondered 
afterward  that  he  could  be  so  patient  —  to  watch  her  fair 
face  cloud  as  even  casually  she  turned ;  to  hear  the  infleo- 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  155 

tion  of  annoyance  in  her  voice  when  she  spoke  to  him,  and 
she  did  not  speak  unless  she  needs  must  answer ;  to  mark 
her  appeal  to  Tarn  Wilson  for  the  buckling  of  her  rein  anew, 
and  the  readjustment  of  her  saddle ;  for  a  flower  growing 
beside  the  way ;  for  a  cluster  of  wild  strawberries,  which 
she  ate  to  the  manifest  danger  of  life  and  limb,  the  reins 
falling  on  her  horse's  neck  as  he  gingerly  picked  his  way, 
stumbling  now  and  again  down  the  rugged  descent,  until 
Tarn  Wilson  himself  gathered  up  the  lines  and  guided  the 
animal.  And  when  the  strawberries  were  eaten  she  rode 
on,  laughing  like  a  child,  her  head  bare  under  the  sun,  her 
golden  curls  hanging  down  on  her  shoulder,  and  her  milk- 
white  face  burning  red,  although  her  riding  mask  swung  by 
its  string  to  her  belt. 

Sometimes  Laroche  was  summoned  back  by  the  requi 
sition  of  Moy  Toy,  Jock  Lesly,  and  Quorinnah,  to  give 
opinions  or  arbitrate  on  some  moot  point  of  the  trading 
privileges  as  established  by  the  treaty,  the  Cherokees  secretly 
delighted  that  it  was  to  a  Frenchman,  actively  employed  in 
the  French  interest,  to  whom  the  unwitting  British  trader 
was  appealing,  by  whose  decision  he  professed  himself  will 
ing  to  abide,  and  that  these  fine-spun  theories  were  to  be 
of  consequence  no  more. 

Then  —  the  two  young  Scotch  people  left  together  — 
Lilias  would  gravely  grasp  the  reins  and  ride  slowly  along, 
gazing  up  continually  at  the  massive  ranges,  for  their  aspect 
shifted  as  the  route  of  the  travelers  deviated.  When  one 
majestic  dome,  always  in  view  from  the  little  window  of 
the  spence,  seemed  on  the  very  border-land  of  vision,  the 
turn  around  a  crag  about  to  cut  it  off  forever,  she  checked 
her  horse  and  paused  to  look  her  last  upon  it. 

"  I  '11  never  see  it  mair  !  "  she  cried,  in  accents  of  posi 
tive  pain.  "  I  '11  ne'er  be  sae  happy  again  as  I  hae  been, 
living  in  the  sight.  Fare  ye  weel,  sweet  friend.  May  the 
warld  gae  cannily  wi'  ye  ! " 


156  A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

The  blue  dome  still  towered  like  a  mirage  in  the  distance 
above  the  purple  of  nearer  heights  and  the  green  of  the 
foothills ;  then  the  crag  intervened,  and  suddenly  she  laid 
down  the  reins  on  the  horse's  neck  and  began  to  tie  on  her 
mask. 

"  Ye  '11  see  mountains  agen.  There  's  mountains  enough 
elsewhere,  Lilias,"  said  Callum,  in  awkward  consolation,  as 
he  caught  up  the  reins  and  held  the  horse  to  a  steady  gait. 

"  Nane  like  these,"  she  protested  in  a  husky  voice. 
"  There  ?s  mountains  enough  in  Scotland,  an'  that 's  nae  joy 
to  you  nor  to  me." 

And  this  was  very  true,  as  the  poor  exile  realized ;  his 
heart  might  ache  vainly  for  the  rugged  mountains  he  re 
membered  and  loved,  and  as  for  these  mountains  of  this 
new  land  she,  whom  he  loved  best,  loved  them  well  for 
another  man's  sake.  He  gazed  upon  them  with  dreary 
eyes  and  an  inward  protest  against  them.  Happy  in  their 
shadow !  in  magnitude,  in  multitude  they  typified  woe, 
unceasing,  immeasurable,  ineradicable.  So  these  two  rode 
on  together  in  silence,  save  that  she  murmured  now  and 
again,  "  Thae  sweet  mountains  !  " 

He  was  none  the  happier  when  Tarn  Wilson  came  spur 
ring  up  again,  and  Lilias  was  suddenly  blithe  and  bonny 
once  more.  She  was  as  gay  as  a  child  when  they  reached 
the  first  unfordable  river,  where  the  singular  methods  of 
ferriage  of  those  days  came  into  requisition.  Through  the 
shallow  waters  of  the  fords  the  knowing  pack  animals  had 
cheerfully  trudged,  scarcely  needing  and  certainly  not 
noticing  the  halloos  and  cracking  of  whips  with  which 
the  packmen  beguiled  the  passage.  Here,  however,  was  a 
river  deep  enough  to  threaten  damage  to  the  packs  and  to 
require  swimming,  and  the  horses  lined  up  on  the  margin, 
still  with  their  tinkling  bells  fitfully  jingling,  and  staidly 
awaited,  more  than  one  with  expectant  whinnies,  the  re 
moval  of  their  burdens.  A  delay  ensued,  as  always,  and 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  157 

each  section  of  the  guard  coming  up,  kept  apart  to  this 
time  for  reasons  of  policy,  halted  in  a  medley  on  the  high 
and  rocky  banks  which  resounded  and  reechoed  with  the 
various  calls  in  Cherokee  and  English  and  braid  Scots,  with 
the  jangling  of  bells  and  stamping  of  hoofs.  Here  and 
there  an  active  and  agitated  search  was  in  progress  for 
the  boat,  constructed  of  buffalo  skins  and  always  hidden 
among  the  willows  or  rocks  on  shore  when  not  in  requisi 
tion  by  the  traders  and  packmen  and  their  Indian  coadju 
tors,  —  the  headmen  of  loco,  the  town  where  the  station 
was  situated,  being  admitted  to  the  secret  of  the  cache. 

"Gone!  gone!" — a  frenzied  exclamation  arose.  "Stolen! 
Carried  away ! " 

Perhaps  hidden  anew  !  A  score  of  active  figures  dashed 
hither  and  thither,  now  bursting  out  of  the  willows  with 
exclamations  of  dismay,  now  plunging  down  the  bank  to 
a  new  point  of  search.  Some  as  they  sped  up  and  down 
showed  above  the  rocks  heads  polled  and  feathered,  others, 
most  genteel,  with  cocked  hats,  and  again  the  coonskin  cap 
or  Callum's  Highland  bonnet  was  in  evidence.  Lilias,  in 
the  nickering,  glinting  shade  of  a  low-hanging  beech  tree, 
her  head  bare  and  golden,  her  face  so  fair,  looking  as  some 
dryad  might,  captured  by  this  wild  and  varied  rout,  waited 
like  one  apart,  without  a  pulse  of  the  impatience  that 
swayed  the  whole  cavalcade.  She  was  living  in  the  pre 
sent.  For  aught  she  cared  the  journey  might  last  for 
ever.  The  past,  it  was  naught  to  her;  the  future  was 
so  strangely  veiled  —  and  somehow  she  trembled  at  the 
thought.  To-day  !  to-day  ! 

The  disaster  threatened  a  long  delay ;  a  new  boat  must 
be  built,  new  hides  procured,  all  suitably  tanned,  and  the 
incident  itself  suggested  treachery  and  fomented  suspicion. 
More  than  once  the  eyes  of  Callum  Macllvesty  and  Tarn 
Wilson  met  in  secret  comment,  an  interchange  of  inquiry, 
a  fraternal  interdependence,  all  other  considerations  forgot- 


158  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

ten  in  the  realization  of  a  common  danger.  But  Moy  Toy's 
face  was  frankly  clouded,  and  Quorinnah  was  already  sug 
gesting  ways  and  means  by  which,  going  into  camp  here, 
help  might  be  fetched  from  loco  Town.  Only  Jock  Lesly 
gave  no  outward  sign  of  his  inward  perturbation  as  he  strode 
up  and  down  the  bank,  save  that  now  and  again  he  admon 
ished  his  cohorts  with  a  shake  of  the  head  and  a  vehement 
"  Oh  fie  !  oh  fie !  " 

And  at  last  and  suddenly,  quiet  descended  on  all  the 
disordered  crew,  bating  a  word  or  two  of  rancorous  upbraid 
ing  and  a  retort  of  raucous  yet  sheepish  protest,  for  the 
boat  was  found  where  first  it  had  been  presumed  to  be.  It 
had  been  overlooked,  so  well  had  it  been  hidden,  and  once 
declared  to  be  missing  the  place  of  its  usual  and  most  ob 
vious  bestowal  was  not  searched  again  till  desperation 
suggested  the  retracing  of  all  the  various  steps  that  had 
been  taken.  And  so  it  was  presently  launched.  A  queer 
craft  we  of  to-day  would  deem  it,  and  perhaps  would  prefer 
something  more  stanch  and  less  picturesque,  seeing  how 
swift  and  deep  and  rocky  was  the  river.  But  the  capsizing 
of  such  a  boat  meant  only  some  slight  injury  of  the  goods 
and  the  swift  swimming  of  the  hardy  passengers  ashore, 
none  the  worse  for  the  plunge  into  the  clear  waters  of 
the  mountain  stream.  The  hides  stretched  between  stout 
saplings,  serving  as  gunwale  and  keel  and  tightly  bound  at 
each  end,  were  distended  toward  the  centre  by  crosspieces 
of  the  same  fashioning,  holding  the  boat  in  the  conven 
tional  canoe  shape,  and  the  structure  would  convey  ten 
horse  loads  at  once.  The  method  of  progression  was  still 
more  singular  —  no  oars  nor  poles  were  used  in  its  propul 
sion.  The  hardy  packmen  of  the  day,  being  lightly  clad 
in  buckskins,  were  wont  boldly  to  fling  themselves  into  the 
river  and  swim  across,  pushing  the  pettiaugre  before  them, 
their  horses  all  gallantly  swimming  in  the  rear.  When  the 
first  boat's  load  had  been  piled  upon  the  craft,  Lilias  was 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  159 

conducted  down  the  steep  bank  and  seated  in  the  boat,  the 
only  passenger,  upon  the  bales  of  fine  dressed  deerskins. 
Callura  Macllvesty  and  a  number  of  other  young  men  were 
instantly  in  the  water,  wading  first,  then  swimming,  with 
the  liberated  horses  following  after.  The  girl  liked  the 
novelty.  She  smiled  down  from  her  high  perch  at  each 
strong  stroke  that  sent  the  curious  structure  throbbing  and 
quivering  on  its  way,  with  its  silver  wake  and  a  little 
ripple  of  foam  at  the  prow.  The  river  was  crystal  clear, 
smooth,  and  shining  in  its  centre  under  the  sun,  deeply, 
duskily  green  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  trees  on  the 
further  shore.  Beyond,  where  the  stream  rounded  a  sort 
of  peninsula,  a  great  glittering  stretch  of  water  seemed  to 
extend  indefinitely  in  a  haze  that  hung  about  a  flat  margin 
and  there  met  the  sun  in  a  vaporous  shimmer,  dazzling 
yet  soft.  All  the  group  on  the  hither  shore  gazed  at  the 
progress  of  the  boat,  but  only  the  cultivated  imagina 
tion  of  the  French  officer  suggested  similitudes  of  aught 
that  it  was  not.  Against  that  green  and  white  and  misty 
background  the  shell-shaped  craft  and  the  still  and  smiling 
golden-haired  figure  recalled  some  legendary  sea  nymph, 
some  Venus  in  the  gliding  shallop ;  the  sleek  heads  of  the 
attendant  train  suggested  dolphins  and  sea  horses,  gleaming 
in  the  sunset  as  they  swam  swiftly  after. 

There  was  scant  space  for  the  flattery  of  illusions,  for  the 
deep  shadows  of  the  leafy  bank  opposite  were  falling  upon 
this  misty  presentment  of  myths,  the  necromancy  of  the 
sheen  and  shimmer,  and  obliterating  it  as  the  little  craft 
was  pushed  in  to  the  land.  Those  of  the  packmen  who 
had  crossed  were  shaking  the  water  from  their  dripping 
garments  with  no  more  care  for  a  drenching  than  so  many 
shaggy  dogs,  and  presently  were  resaddling  their  horses, 
while  Lilias,  quite  dry  and  fresh,  stood  apart  on  a  little  pro 
montory  of  rock  and  with  a  scornful  wave  of  the  hand  bade 
Callum  in  his  saturated  kilt  keep  his  distance. 


160  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

It  seems  incredible  that  such  a  man  as  Laroche  should 
fear  a  little  guying,  but  perhaps  it  was  only  the  spectacle 
of  Callum's  discomfiture  that  reconciled  him  to  the  know 
ledge  of  the  scoffs  at  him,  covert  and  otherwise,  which  he 
knew  he  should  receive  from  the  other  young  men  when 
with  Jock  Lesly  and  the  Indian  headmen  he  should  cross 
in  the  boat  on  its  second  trip,  his  condition  as  a  recent  in 
valid  entitling  him  to  share  their  honors  and  ease.  It  was 
barely  possible,  however,  that  Lilias  would  have  found  no 
occasion,  even  were  he  also  dripping  from  the  short  swim, 
to  place  an  embargo  on  his  near  approach.  Why  it  was 
that  this  watery  quarantine  should  have  roused  Callum 
Macllvesty's  spirit  of  revolt,  of  self-assertion,  of  pride,  it  is 
difficult  to  say.  Perhaps  merely  the  limit  of  his  endurance 
was  reached  when  he  was  cried  out  upon  like  a  too  affec 
tionate  and  dripping  water  dog. 

"  I  winna  sprinkle  your  kirtle,"  he  said  with  some  dig 
nity,  despite  the  triviality  of  the  theme.  And  he  withdrew 
himself  —  not  merely  till  the  hot  sun  and  the  reflected  heat 
of  sand  and  rocks  should  dry  off  his  garments,  which,  aided 
by  the  swift  running  to  and  fro  on  the  errands  of  the  pack- 
train,  the  brisk  wind,  and  the  warmth  of  his  own  body, 
was  shortly  effected. 

The  whole  train  was  in  motion  again  incredibly  soon, 
considering  the  abnormal  difficulties  which  these  primitive 
methods  of  ferriage  would  seem  to  present.  The  young 
packmen,  by  reason  of  being  detailed  to  the  earliest  cross 
ing,  were  kept  separated  from  the  braves,  the  "  mad  young 
men,"  with  whom  it  was  feared  some  quarrel  might  arise 
through  their  perverse  ingenuity,  independent  of  verbal 
communication.  These  tribesmen  came  last  of  all,  after  the 
dignitaries  of  both  factions,  and  thus  when  once  more  on 
the  march  the  original  formation  of  the  little  cavalcade  was 
preserved. 

Only  Callum  Macllvesty  had  shifted  his  position.    He  no 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  161 

longer  rode  at  the  right  hand  of  Lilias,  but  ahead  with  the 
squad  of  packmen,  and  Tarn  Wilson  succeeded  to  the  posi 
tion  he  had  occupied ;  but  Lilias  appeared  hardly  to  have 
noticed  Callum's  absence,  and  certainly  did  not  waste  a 
thought  upon  it.  Her  radiant  spirit  seemed  to  shine  through 
her  eyes  —  she  was  gay,  whimsically,  childishly  fascinating 
one  moment ;  soft,  serious,  deeply  emotional  the  next ;  now 
showing  her  more  earnest  traits,  careful,  womanly,  unself 
ish  ;  and  again  the  veriest  flutterer  of  a  butterfly.  She  had 
never  been  so  protean  of  mood,  so  beautiful,  so  charming. 
And  yet  Laroche  looked  upon  her  with  changed  eyes,  a 
newly  aroused  and  upbraiding  conscience.  The  frightful 
bodily  danger  in  which  they  had  all  recently  stood  from  the 
murderous  Cherokees,  his  triumphant  scheming  to  avert 
their  impending  fate,  had  been  as  a  reprieve  to  thoughts 
that  now  in  this  leisure  again  clamored  for  a  hearing. 
His  long,  idle  lingering  amongst  them  and  enforced  conceal 
ment  of  his  identity  had  brought  this  menace  upon  them. 
He  had  not  yet  annulled  all  its  evils.  And  now  —  whither 
was  he  tending  ?  Daily  he  considered  the  question. 

He  was  a  man  of  education,  having  had  superior  facili 
ties  and  both  the  talent  and  the  will  to  avail  himself  of 
them.  He  was  not  without  social  culture,  and  he  moved 
in  coteries  of  refinement.  While  not  of  the  higher  nobility, 
he  was  still  a  man  of  good  birth,  of  degree,  and  of  some 
fortune,  and  this  had  enabled  him  to  tolerate  the  more 
kindly  the  bourgeois,  nay  the  peasant-like  aspect  of  the 
Lesly  household,  since  it  was  but  a  matter  of  contempla 
tion,  and  by  no  means  of  assimilation.  He  had  regarded 
it  with  all  its  homely  traits  and  habitudes  as  impersonally 
as  if  it  were  a  scene  on  a  stage. 

In  addition  he  was  consumed  by  professional  ambition ; 
he  had  always  been  accounted  an  efficient,  superior  officer ; 
he  believed  that  his  military  abilities  were  great.  Upon 
the  successful  issue  of  his  plans  among  the  Cherokees  and 


162  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

other  tribes  high  preferment  would  await  him  in  the  gift  of 
the  French  government.  To  hamper  by  a  mesalliance  with 
a  simple  Scotch  girl,  the  daughter  of  a  bourgeois  trader,  his 
future,  his  pride  of  diplomatic  achievement,  his  opportu 
nity  to  render  great  services  to  his  government  —  he  was 
appalled  by  the  very  thought.  He  promised  himself  that 
he  would  make  no  such  sacrifice  for  any  woman  on  earth  ! 
Seriously  contemplated,  he  could  not  raise  her  to  his  level, 
and  he  would  not  sink  to  hers.  All  must  be  renounced 
should  he  dream  of  her  in  any  sense  but  to  kiss  her  hand 
in  gallantry  and  bless  her  goodness  in  gratitude. 

Yet  what  was  he  doing  ?  Separating  forever  two  young 
people  whose  kindness  had  been  so  largely  instrumental  in 
saving  his  life.  Lapsed  in  the  luxury  of  a  sweet,  delicate, 
almost  abstract  emotion,  nattered  by  the  consciousness  of 
her  love,  he  had  supplanted  her  true  suitor  by  this  ghastly 
simulacrum  of  a  lover,  and  was  wrecking  the  happiness  of 
both.  He  was  sentimental  enough,  in  the  abstract,  to  care 
much  for  a  sentimental  woe.  He  was  conscientious  enough 
to  appraise  the  unjustified  intermeddling  of  the  course  he  had 
pursued,  and  sensitive  enough  to  shrink  from  bearing  the 
consciousness  of  it  all  his  days.  With  the  policy  of  the 
confessional  of  the  faith  in  which  he  had  been  trained,  that 
restitution  must  accompany  repentance  and  peace  only  fol 
low  penance,  he  was  canvassing  how  to  undo  in  days  all  that 
he  had  wrought  in  months.  It  should  not  be,  he  declared 
arbitrarily.  He  cared  honestly,  kindly,  too  much  for  her, 
loved  her  too  truly,  for  herself,  as  a  friend !  And  toward 
Callum  himself  he  was  not  indifferent.  Yet  how  could 
he  bring  them  together  again  ?  Difficulties  hedged  him 
about.  He  feared  the  English  in  his  character  of  French 
emissary.  Now,  daily,  he  was  approaching  the  English 
man's  country.  He  adventured,  indeed,  much  for  the  sake 
of  her  and  hers.  Knowing  his  prejudice,  he  would  not 
trust  Jock  Lesly  with  his  secret.  But  the  girl  loved  him. 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  163 

He  would  trust  Lilias !  She  would  doubtless  expect  him 
to  follow  her  to  Charlestown.  She  would  watch  and  wait 
for  him.  She  would  pine.  But  should  he  disclose  his 
nationality,  his  employ,  it  must  appear  that  their  parting 
was  final ;  in  all  probability,  so  divided  by  distance  and 
prejudice,  they  would  never  meet  again.  It  would  be  a 
poignant  pang  to  them  both,  and  Lilias  he  could  never  for 
get  !  If  thus  unhampered  she  could  find  her  happiness  in 
Callum  Macllvesty — he  sighed — but  he  would  not  grudge 
it.  At  all  events  he  owed  her  this :  she  must  not  waste  her 
sweet  young  life  in  devotion  to  an  illusion. 

In  reaching  this  resolution  he  was  far  too  acute,  too  ac 
customed  to  introspection,  not  to  perceive  that  he  had  post 
poned  the  shattering  of  the  romance  that  had  delighted 
him  until  its  enchantment  had  at  the  most  but  a  few 
days'  lease.  He  took  some  credit,  however,  that  he  had 
determined  to  submit  to  the  ordeal  and  the  jeopardy  it  in 
volved  before  these  were  passed,  that  he  might  have  space 
for  an  earnest  effort  to  bring  the  young  people  to  their 
former  understanding.  Besides,  he  argued,  he  might  easily, 
in  the  interests  of  his  own  safety,  hold  his  peace.  Surely 
it  was  not  a  part  of  his  duty,  in  going  about  the  country, 
to  warn  susceptible  maidens  against  losing  their  hearts  to 
him. 

Notwithstanding  the  stress  of  this  absorption,  he  con 
ducted  a  dual  train  of  thought,  listened  to  her  talk,  answered 
in  character,  followed  the  manifold  changing  theme,  com 
mented  on  the  varying  aspects  of  the  country,  —  all  the  re 
gion  being  new  to  him,  —  found  even  space  for  a  keen  notice 
of  her  flattered  consciousness  that  it  was  for  her  sake  that 
he  made  this  long  and  laborious  detour  in  his  journey  to 
delay  their  parting  —  if  ever  they  should  part  again ;  -and 
only  once  did  he  answer  at  random,  and  only  once  did  he 
fall  into  silence,  to  be  merrily  rallied  and  asked  when  and 
where  did  he  see  that  wolf. 


164  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

One  day  the  camp  was  pitched  ahout  sunset,  the  blue 
twilight  yet  in  abeyance.  This,  too,  was  the  first  halt  since 
breakfast,  dinner  having  been  eaten  on  the  march.  A  sub 
stantial  meal,  therefore,  was  this  supper  al  fresco.  Kettles 
were  swung  gypsy  fashion  ;  venison  was  broiled  on  the  coals  ; 
some  wild  ducks,  brought  down  by  a  volley  in  the  course  of 
the  march,  were  split  and  toasted  on  a  long  stick  at  the  gen 
eral  camp,  but  brandered  at  the  fire  of  the  "  gentlefolks  "  as 
the  contingent  of  Moy  Toy  and  Jock  Lesly  was  called,  — 
it  boasting  a  branding  iron.  The  "  gentles  "  also  rejoiced 
in  a  case  bottle  of  brandy,  while  the  lower  grades  were  con 
tent  with  rum,  and  only  Lilias  and  the  Frenchman  drank  a 
"  dish  of  chocolate."  By  a  watercourse,  necessarily,  the  halt 
was  made  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  one  of  those  exquisite 
springs  for  which  the  region  is  noted. 

It  seemed  inimitably  deep  as  Laroche  and  Lilias  stood 
amidst  the  sweet-scented  ferns  on  its  rocky  verge  and  then 
sat  down  on  one  of  the  fractured  fragments  fallen  from  the 
great  crag  beetling  from  the  mountain  slope  above  their 
heads. 

Lured  by  the  fascination  that  this  sort  of  fountain  in  the 
wilderness  seems  to  exert  on  all  travelers,  each  of  the  cav 
alcade  had  come  to  gaze  upon  the  crystalline  depths  which 
were  like  topaz  in  the  lucent  tints  imparted  by  the  golden 
gravel  beneath.  The  hewing  of  the  circular  basin  was  almost 
as  symmetrical  as  if  wrought  by  hand.  The  down-dropping 
branches  of  the  sycamore  and  beech  nearly  veiled  the  crags 
closing  about  them,  and  the  far-away  mountains  across  a 
stretch  of  valleys  and  lesser  ranges  were  purple  and  sombre 
under  the  light  of  the  sinking  and  vermilion  sun.  Only 
these  two  lingered  here,  quite  silent  at  first,  and  Laroche 
wondered  if  he  could  speak  at  all.  He  glanced  about 
doubtfully. 

"  Lilias,"  he  said  slowly,  "  I  have  something  to  say  to 
you." 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  165 

The  shadow  of  a  homing  bird  sped  across  the  sunlit  val 
ley.  Down  the  current  of  the  river  was  visible  a  red  re 
flection  that  was  not  a  cast  of  the  western  sun,  but  was 
caught  from  a  camp-fire  on  the  bluff.  At  these  he  looked, 
not  at  her,  lest  the  sight  of  her  face  disarm  his  resolution ; 
yet  somehow  he  was  aware  of  the  sudden  flutter  of  her 
heart  and  the  quickening  of  her  pulses,  and  he  knew  that 
for  all  his  art  and  all  his  tact  he  had  begun  amiss.  He 
hastened  to  nullify  the  impression  she  might  have  taken, 
nay,  nay,  must  have  taken  from  his  words. 

"  It  is  a  secret,"  he  said  hurriedly.  "  You  must  promise 
that  you  will  tell  no  one  —  not  even  your  father." 

He  wondered,  his  eyes  still  fixed  on  those  furthest  west 
ern  mountains,  if  her  heart  had  ceased  to  beat,  so  still  she 
suddenly  was ;  then  he  realized  rather  than  saw  the  slow 
motion  of  surprise,  of  protest,  as  her  head  turned  toward  him 
on  its  long  and  slender  white  neck. 

"  Not  even  your  father,'7  he  reiterated,  for  he  must  needs 
go  on. 

So  sudden  had  been  the  revulsion  of  feeling,  so  com 
plete,  so  paralyzing,  that  she  could  not  trust  her  voice. 
And  this  was  well,  for  he  perceived  that  even  in  these  few 
steps  he  had  stumbled  into  a  second  pitfall.  Exclude  the 
paternal  idol,  know  a  secret  forbidden  to  that  paragon  of 
wisdom  and  crown  of  creation,  Jock  Lesly  !  In  another 
moment  he  would  have  a  downright  refusal  of  the  trust. 
He  must  quickly  involve  her  in  the  safety,  the  confidence 
of  another,  and  even  filial  fealty  would  not  warrant  her  in 
breaking  faith  with  him. 

"  No,"  he  qualified  hastily,  "  don't  promise.  I  will 
throw  myself  on  your  honor  —  in  the  fullest  assurance  of 
safety.  Lilias,  I  am  not  what  I  seem ;  I  am  an  emissary 
of  the  French  government,  an  officer  of  the  army !  " 

She  recoiled  violently,  suddenly  shaken,  shocked;  and 
albeit  ghastly  pale  she  fixed  a  challenging  stare  upon  him. 


166  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

"  A  spy  ?  "  she  demanded  in  a  husky  voice,  impressive 
with  its  deliberate  tone  and  weighty  yet  incredulous  rebuke. 

Laroche  hastily  collected  his  faculties.  This  untoward 
trend  of  his  disclosures  must  needs  be  checked  in  sheer 
consideration  of  the  safety  of  his  neck. 

"Ah,  Lilias,  bien  aimee"  he  cried,  in  half  petulant, 
half  affectionate  protest.  "  How  can  you  misunderstand  ? 
Remember  how  I  came  to  you  —  was  it  of  my  own  inten 
tion,  my  own  volition  ?  " 

The  recollection  of  those  weeks  of  illness,  of  helpless 
ness,  when  he  lay  under  their  roof  unconscious,  brought 
thither  by  her  father,  was  supplemented  by  the  thought  of 
the  simple  domestic  routine  in  which  he  had  grown  a  fac 
tor  and  had  made  the  dear  sense  of  home  in  these  savage 
wilds  so  doubly  dear,  his  eager  care  for  their  safety,  his 
suspicions  of  the  Indians,  his  precautions  for  the  defense  of 
the  trading-station,  his  oft  ridiculed  anxieties  and  prognos 
tications  of  savage  treachery  that  had  at  last  proved  stern 
truth,  —  only  foiled  by  his  foresight  and  ingenuity  and 
sagacity.  As  these  reflections  flitted  through  her  mind, 
his  eyes  read  the  changing  expressions  of  her  face  like  an 
open  book.  He  spoke  as  if  in  response. 

"  Kemember,"  he  said  with  emotion,  "  for  believe  me  I 
can  never  forget,  dear  heart "  — 

Suddenly,  seeing  the  roseate  color  at  the  word  beginning 
to  return,  to  deepen,  to  glow  in  her  cheek  with  a  subtle, 
conscious  emotion,  he  was  admonished  of  that  far  more  sig 
nificant  secret  of  his  mission  which  must  be  disclosed,  and 
that  quickly,  for  the  sake  of  both. 

"No,  not  a  spy,"  he  declared  deliberately,  seeking  to 
quell  the  wild  plunging  of  his  own  heart,  as  though  one 
should  find  a  gentle  palfrey  suddenly  metamorphosed  into  a 
mighty  charger.  "  My  mission  was  primarily  to  survey  and 
report  the  character  of  the  obstructions  to  navigation  of  the 
Cherokee  Biver  —  far  away,  a  hundred  miles  or  more  j  but 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  167 

I  feared  to  say  as  much  to  your  father,  because  of  the  in 
ternational  jealousies,  that  yet  need  hamper  no  friendship 
between  him  and  me.  May  we  not  think  kindly  of  each 
other  as  man  to  man,  even  though  the  nations  are  at 
war  ?  " 

He  turned  questioning  eyes  upon  her  —  and  she,  her  face 
so  sweetly  flushed,  her  eyes  so  gently  luminous,  looking  all 
her  love  for  him,  all  her  soft  faith  in  his  love  for  her,  si 
lently  acceded,  for  she  could  not  trust  her  voice  in  the  con 
sciousness  of  what  she  looked  to  hear,  what  his  words  next 
promised. 

Oh,  how  could  he  speak  ?  Yet  how  could  he  dally  and 
delay  and  torture  both  himself  and  her  ?  The  look  in  her 
face  nearly  routed  his  resolve.  With  an  effort  he  went 
on  almost  at  random,  blurting  out  his  revelation  by  piece 
meal. 

"My  mission  was  primarily  merely  diplomatic  —  but  I 
foresaw  the  opportunity  here  and,  representing  it  to  the 
government,  I  volunteered  for  the  service ;  my  authority 
was  accordingly  extended,  and  I  will  command  an  army 
of  Indians  when  it  is  put  into  the  field  in  the  French 
interest." 

He  had  plucked  off  a  frond  of  the  fern  that  grew  by 
the  margin  and  was  tearing  it  to  bits  and  throwing  them 
from  him  in  the  pause.  They  could  hear  the  water  of  the 
spring  softly  gurgle.  The  voices  of  the  camp  beyond 
sounded  distant  and  a-dream,  like  half  heeded  calls  to 
drowsy  ears ;  the  reflection  of  the  camp-fires  in  the  river 
had  mustered  a  deeper  glow,  as  if  recruited  from  the  crim 
son  clouds  so  lately  parading  through  the  sky.  Now  the 
sky  was  vacant,  a  clear,  pure,  faintly  tinted  blue,  and  in 
its  midst  a  star  gleamed  with  an  incomparable  whiteness 
above  the  darkly  bronze  green  of  the  mountains.  And  yet 
the  night  had  not  come.  The  world  was  full  of  this  gentle, 
limpid  clarity  of  light.  He  could  have  seen  every  line  of 


168  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

her  face  as  she  sat  upon  the  rock  had  he  dared  glance 
toward  her. 

If  the  girl  had  been  an  image,  craftily  wrought  of  stone, 
she  could  have  shown  no  more  semblance  of  life  than  that 
silent,  motionless  figure. 

She  doubtless  heard.     She  could  but  understand. 

The  reserve  of  her  attitude  overwhelmed  the  alert  ex 
pectation  of  the  Frenchman,  whose  mental  posture  had 
been,  by  long  and  agitated  anticipation,  braced  for  expostu 
lation,  for  reproaches,  for  tears,  nay  even  appeals,  —  for 
she  loved  him  as  he  loved  her,  and  he  knew  it.  This  abso 
lute  nullity  as  the  result  of  a  revelation  so  momentous  to 
them  both  reacted  on  his  nerves.  Oddly  enough  he  experi 
enced  the  tumult  of  feeling  in  which  he  had  thought  to  see 
her  whelmed.  He  even  called  out  to  her  in  his  agitation, 
as  heretofore  he  had  prefigured  her  appeal  to  him.  He  had 
utterly  lost  his  artificial  poise  —  he  had  become  once  more 
the  natural  man. 

"  Lilias !  Lilias  !  "  he  cried  with  a  poignant  accent.  "  It 
is  true,  lassie,  to  my  sorrow  —  to  my  sorrow !  I  am  a 
French  soldier,  but  no  enemy  of  you  or  of  yours,  and,  God 
help  me,  I  love  you !  " 

She  lifted  her  head  suddenly  and  looked  at  him  with 
stern  eyes,  which,  even  despite  the  dusk,  he  could  by  no 
means  misunderstand. 

"  Do  you  mean,"  she  said,  "  that  you  volunteered  to 
spirit  up  these  fiends  of  Indians  to  fall  upon  the  frontier 
and  massacre  women  and  children  ?  " 

He  drew  back,  affronted  and  wounded. 

"  Nay,  Lilias,  war  is  war,  and  never  play.  If  women 
and  children  suffer,  't  is  the  fortune  of  war,  and  the  respon 
sibility  is  on  the  men  who  have  the  care  of  them.  And  do 
not  the  English  march  savages  against  the  French  ?  And 
have  not  Frenchmen  also  wives  and  children,  and  even 
hearts  and  souls  ?  " 


A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER  169 

"  If  it  were  your  bounden  duty,"  she  stipulated. 

"  It  is,  being  my  country's  opportunity,"  he  argued. 

"  If  it  had  been  that  ye  could  na  turn  back  —  that  your 
help  had  been  pledged  —  your  honor  engaged  —  your  own 
and  your  harae  to  defend  !  But  to  seek  the  foul  employ  — 
to  lead  into  the  field  these  merciless  fiends  against  the  peace 
ful  hunter  and  the  patient  husbandman,  the  wife  and  the 
daughter,  the  grandarne  and  the  babe  !  And  for  what  price, 
Judas  ?  Is  it  gold  —  or  is  it  place  ?  " 

He  could  kiss  her  hand,  even  if  it  dealt  a  blow. 

"  Nay,  Lilias,"  he  said,  wincing  at  every  thrust.  "  It  is 
justifiable  by  all  the  rules  of  war ;  no  honorable  soldier 
need  evade  the  duty.  But  I  will  not  have  you  think  of  me 
thus.  I  mean  "  —  taking  the  plunge  of  irrevocable  revolt, 
to  his  own  amazement  —  "I  will  renounce  it ;  I  will  re 
sign.  I  will  return  to  civil  life.  I  will  be  a  planter  —  a 
—  what  you  will,  and  you  shall  be  my  wife." 

"  Your  wife !  "  she  exclaimed,  and  her  voice,  although 
steady,  rang  uncertain  of  intonation.  "  Your  wife !  " 

She  seemed,  to  his  alert  receptiveness,  to  dwell  linger- 
ingly,  fondly,  on  the  words.  But  after  a  moment  she  went 
on  unfalteringly,  — 

"  Oh,  man !  you  'd  break  faith  with  king  and  country 
to  win  favor  with  a  woman  !  " 

He  was  staggered  for  an  instant. 

"  It  would  be  no  loss  to  the  government.  They  would 
only  send  another  officer  to  fill  my  place." 

He  hesitated  in  a  sudden  jealous  speculation  as  to  who 
might  succeed  to  the  result  of  his  careful  work  and  the  re 
wards  of  his  hard-earned  opportunity.  Then  he  resumed  with 
eager  urgency,  "  But  you  think  my  orders  are  revolting  and 
the  service  unholy.  You  account  my  engagements  with 
the  French  government  inconsistent  with  my  honor  "  — 

"  It  is  na  what  /  think,  but  what  are  they  to  you  — 
naething  ?  —  naething  ?  " 


170  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

"  Nothing  in  comparison  with  my  love  for  you  ;  nothing 
in  comparison  with  my  gratitude  for  your  love  for  me. 
For,  Lilias,  you  love  me ;  surely  you  love  me !  " 

She  had  risen,  and  still  standing,  she  suddenly  put  both 
hands  before  her  eyes. 

"  Oh,  puir  Tarn  Wilson ! "  she  cried,  and  burst  into  a 
tumult  of  tears. 

The  irrelevance  stunned  him  as  he  stood  staring  at  her. 

"  But  you  are  na  Tarn  Wilson  !  "  She  turned  upon  him 
in  a  sort  of  fury,  throwing  out  one  hand  at  arm's  length  with 
a  gesture  of  repudiation.  "  Oh,  you  are  na  Tarn  Wilson  ! 
Oh,  the  leal  heart  he  had !  He  wad  na  gie  ower  his  trust 
and  renounce  his  pledges  and  quit  his  country's  wark  for 
ony  lassie  alive !  He  could  na  be  balked  by  fear,  an'  he 
could  na  be  bought  by  favor.  And  if  God  prospered  him 
he  thankit  Him  for  his  mercies  !  And  if  God  denied  him 
he  thankit  Him  for  his  chastening !  And  when  in  the 
gude  time  his  wife  suld  come  to  him,  't  would  be  as  a  help 
meet,  as  't  was  ordained,  —  to  go  hand  in  hand  in  an  hon 
orable  path,  to  work  togither,  building  up,  not  throwing 
down,  keeping  faith,  not  breaking  it,  —  open  as  the  day, 
hiding  naething  and  with  nae thing  to  hide.  And  she  would 
be  dear,  but  his  honor  would  be  dearer  !  He  wad  na  win 
a  woman's  heart  wi'  vain  protestations  an'  false  names,  and 
wi'  terrible  secret  military  orders  to  haud  him  back,  —  and 
then  tell  her  that  his  engagements  were  naught  to  him  for 
her  sake  !  For  she  might  tell  him,  as  I  tell  you,  an  oath  's 
an  oath,  and  ill  to  break !  And  I  will  hae  naught  to  do 
wi'  a  man  wha  wad  break  it  for  the  blink  o'  a  lassie's  eye ! 
He  wad  na  do  that  —  oh,  puir  Tarn  Wilson !  " 

He  stood  aghast,  arraigned,  conscience-stricken.  But  she 
had  leaned  against  the  crag,  her  soft  cheek  pressed  on  the 
stern  gray  rock,  relinquishing  her  reproaches  and  bewailing 
her  bereavement. 

"  Oh,  puir,  puir  Tarn    Wilson  !  "  she  cried  again  and 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  171 

again.  "  To  think  he  never  lived  !  He  isna  you  !  He  is 
naebody  —  naething  !  Puir  Tarn  Wilson  —  to  think  he 
never  lived ! " 

She  would  not  hear  remonstrances.  She  would  not  look 
at  Laroche.  He  was  fain  presently  to  leave  her  in  the 
closing  dusk,  lest  the  others  might  join  them  when  neither 
could  well  explain  her  emotion.  As  he  slipped  away  in 
the  elusive  gathering  gray  shadows,  he  still  heard  her  sobs 
from  their  midst,  bewailing  the  tenuous  estate  of  puir  Tarn 
Wilson,  quite  as  elusive  as  they. 

He  did  not  see  her  again  till  the  next  morning.  She 
was  pallid  as  the  result  of  a  sleepless  night.  Her  eyelids, 
although  swollen  from  persistent  weeping,  were  still  heavy 
with  unshed  tears.  Her  face  was  stern,  hard,  even  sullen. 
She  seemed  averse  to  speech  and  answered  her  father's  ex 
pressions  of  alarm  because  of  her  grief-stricken  manner  and 
Callum's  eager  solicitous  inquiries  as  to  her  well-being  with 
a  curt  explanation,  "  I  hae  had  dreams." 

Laroche,  who  had  had  time  for  reflection,  appreciated 
an  undercurrent  of  a  more  subtle  sincerity  in  the  response 
than  was  obvious  from  the  surface.  Dreams  indeed  —  mere 
dreams  !  Puir  Tarn  Wilson  ! 

He  was  glad  of  the  relief  which  this  apt  reply  afforded 
him,  for  he  had  suffered  some  mundane  and  most  personal 
anxieties,  in  view  of  her  youth  and  inexperience  in  diplo 
matic  matters,  as  to  her  capability  to  guard  his  disclosure. 
Indeed  he  was  doubtful  of  her  disposition  to  shield  him 
since  her  emotion  had  been  so  strongly  elicited  and  the 
unexpected  resultant  repulsion  for  him  had  so  completely 
offset  her  prepossession  hitherto  in  his  favor,  on  which  he 
had  relied  for  protection.  His  liberty,  and  even  his  life, 
were  in  her  hands,  and  he  could  hardly  contain  his  regret 
that  he  had  confided  aught  to  her. 

There  is  no  repentance  so  sharp  as  that  which  arises  from 
a  mistake  made  in  a  presumable  excess  of  conscientiousness. 


172  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

He  told  himself  now  that  acting  in  the  discharge  of  his 
political  and  official  duty  he  might  well  have  left  events  to 
take  their  own  course.  If  he  had  parted  with  her,  reveal 
ing  naught  of  the  true  identity  of  puir  Tarn  Wilson,  she 
could  hardly  have  pined  more  for  the  man  himself  than  for 
the  figment  of  her  fancy.  Callum  had  scarcely  a  more  de 
finite  rival  in  the  substance  than  in  the  shadow.  If  the 
two  young  people  could  not  come  to  an  understanding  with 
the  memory  of  the  man  between  them,  they  could  hardly 
now  have  a  unity  of  interest  separated  by  the  myth. 

But  the  dreams  that  she  had  had,  of  which  he  was  acutely 
conscious  of  being  a  visionary  part,  and  her  fractious,  im 
perious  temper  served  to  account  for  much  childish  petu 
lance  in  her  conduct  toward  all  who  approached  her.  She 
waved  away  the  horse  on  which  she  had  hitherto  ridden, 
when  the  animal  was  brought  forward,  ready  saddled  for 
her  use.  She  would  not  speak,  nor  would  she  mount. 

"  Oh  fie !  oh  fie !  "  exclaimed  Jock  Lesly,  as  in  duty 
bound.  Then  in  dulcet  solicitude,  "  Winna  ma  poppet 
ride  her  pillion  ?  Hey,  Duncan,  Dougal,  —  Miss  Lilias's 
pillion !  » 

And  then  it  became  evident  that  on  this  pillion  she 
would  in  no  wise  ride  behind  Callum,  who  was  only  too 
officious  to  proffer  his  services;  nor  Tarn  Wilson,  whose 
proposition,  despite  a  secret  reluctance,  was  made  with  all 
needful  show  of  alacrity.  Therefore  the  pillion  was  strapped 
behind  Jock  Lesly's  saddle,  and  when  mounted  there  Lilias 
leaned  her  head  against  his  broad  shoulder  and  wept  silently 
from  time  to  time  and  desisted  to  clasp  both  arms  as  tightly 
as  possible  around  his  broad  girth  with  a  childish  but  joy 
less  hug,  feeling,  nevertheless,  that  here  was  the  only  stanch 
heart  in  all  the  world,  the  only  one  whose  love  was  of  any 
value.  Then  she  would  fall  to  weeping  again,  and  pause  to 
take  pleasure  in  wiping  her  eyes  on  the  gray  and  flaxen 
wisps  of  his  plaited  hair,  hanging  down  on  his  shoulders 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  173 

within  her  reach.  So  often  was  his  hair  devoted  to  the  sad 
duty  of  drying  her  tears  that  the  locks  came  unplaited  and 
escaped "  from  the  leather  thong  that  tied  them,  so  that  she 
needs  must  plait  them  over  again.  This  she  did,  using 
both  hands  and  sustaining  her  weight  on  the  pillion  by 
holding  to  the  hair  of  the  suffering  scalp  of  her  father,  who, 
much  tormented  lest  she  fall,  punctuated  the  performance 
with  adjurations  —  "  Oh  fie  !  oh  fie  !  " 

Presently  he  would  feel  her  head,  once  more  lying  against 
his  shoulder,  shaken  by  the  tumult  of  her  sobs,  and  in  a 
bewildered  effort  at  consolation  he  would  admonish  her, 
"  Whist  —  whist,  hinny  !  Dreams  are  naething !  but  niaist 
like  sour  sowens  for  supper.  Dreams  are  naething !  " 

"  Naething !  "  she  would  respond  ambiguously.  "  Nae 
thing  !  Oh;  that  I  suld  say  so !  Dreams  are  naething 
at  a'!" 

She  did  not  speak  to  Laroche  again  except  upon  the  day 
of  his  departure,  which  he  had  expedited  as  far  as  he  might 
without  incurring  comment.  She  was  riding  her  own  horse 
again,  and  when  she  pressed  the  animal  up  abreast  with  him 
in  the  cavalcade,  he  felt  his  heart  glow  within  him.  He 
had  loved  her,  truly  and  purely,  and  with  a  sort  of  tender 
lenient  admiration,  and  he  warmed  to  the  thought  of  bear 
ing  away  with  him  some  word  of  friendship  that  would 
make  the  remembrance  of  her  less  like  a  flagellation  than  a 
grief  both  sad  and  sweet  and  to  be  tenderly  cherished.  For 
she  could  not  be  aware  that  he  had  revealed  his  military 
and  national  status  without  intending  to  confess  his  love 
merely  to  stem  the  tide  of  her  own. 

There  was  a  touch  of  pride  in  the  poise  of  her  head. 
Yet  it  was  always  carried  high,  in  truth.  Her  eyes  flashed. 
They  were  always  at  their  brightest  when  they  looked  out 
thus,  gleaming  like  sapphires  upon  the  variant  blue  of  the 
distant  mountain  ranges.  The  day  was  fair,  the  wind  went 
by  with  a  rush,  and  her  smile  was  as  bland  as  the  sun  on 


174  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

the  expanse  of  vernal  foliage  in  the  valley  beneath  the  verge 
of  the  path  as  they  rode  adown  the  rugged  ravines. 

"  They  tell  me  you  are  gaun  to  quit  us  the  day,"  she 
said  suavely. 

"  Aye,  and  sorry  am  I,"  he  replied  with  polite  alacrity. 

She  made  a  gesture  as  of  flouting  a  triviality. 

"  Why  suld  mortals  be  glad  or  sorry  ?  "  she  said.  "  Their 
fate  is  a'  fixed,  whether  they  will  or  no.  And  they  go  to 
meet  it  —  ane  might  a' most  say  —  without  mair  knowledge 
o'  its  nearness  than  kyloes  hae  o'  the  shambles." 

She  paused  for  a  moment.  Then  quickly  resumed  as  if 
she  neither  expected  nor  desired  response. 

"  But  mony  folks  try  to  speer  out  the  future,  and  tak 
muckle  heed  o'  signs  an'  sic-like,  especial  o'  ill  luck.  Ye 
hae  heard  us  speak  o'  thae  strange  warnin's  that  appear  in 
the  likeness  o'  a  man's  nainseP  —  but  I  misdoubts  these 
are  only  auld  wives'  clavers  ;  I  misdoubts.  I  want  to  tell 
you  this,"  —  she  turned  upon  him  a  casual  but  radiant 
smile,  —  "  if  e'er  you  hap  to  see  a  man  comin'  till  you  that 
looks  like  yoursel',  ye  needna  be  frighted,  for  it  winna  be 
Tarn  Wilson.  Tak  my  word  for  it  —  it  winna  be  Tarn 
Wilson  !  " 

She  reined  in  her  horse  and  fell  back  among  the  others, 
while  he  rode  on  feeling  his  heart  thrust  through  with  the 
stabs  of  her  deliberate  cruelty  j  and  these  were  all  the  fare 
well  words  that  passed  between  them. 


IX 

PERHAPS  no  man  ever  lived  a  tragedy  of  thought  and 
feeling,  unrelated  to  the  conditions  and  professions  of  his 
merely  material  life,  more  consciously  than  did  Laroche. 
Flung  back  perforce  on  his  military  character,  every  pulse 
ached  with  the  straining  against  those  professional  chains, 
the  fragments  of  which,  had  they  broken  in  the  stress,  he 
would  with  loyal  perversity  have  hugged.  Yet  since  they 
held  fast,  he  pined  for  Jock  Lesly,  for  the  simple  household, 
for  the  humble  domestic  habitudes  and  the  hearthside  at 
mosphere,  for  the  chaste  yet  alluring  presence  of  Lilias. 
Many  a  day  after  he  had  seen  the  trader's  cavalcade  fare 
downward  through  the  bosky  ravine,  becoming  dim  and 
diminishing  as  it  went,  flickering  among  the  shadows  seem 
ing  as  immaterial  as  they,  finally  vanishing  indistinguishably 
in  their  midst,  he  could  behold  it  anew  in  freshest  tints  and 
near  at  hand  whenever  the  wish — or  alack,  the  unruly 
fancy  —  brought  it  to  mind  again.  Long  after  the  echoes 
had  ceased  to  repeat  the  hearty  halloo  of  farewell,  the  last 
of  many  regretful  tokens  of  parting,  he  was  wont  to  hear 
these  voices  in  song  or  breezy  talk  or  affectionate  greeting 
as  of  yore. 

Yet  he  had  scant  time  for  this  as  he  rode  back  to  loco 
Town,  for  it  is  needless  to  say  the  projected  detour  to  Vir 
ginia  was  never  really  in  contemplation.  Moy  Toy  was  ob 
viously  jealous  of  his  self-absorption  and  silence,  and  had 
become  captious  under  the  enforced  relinquishment  of  the 
trader's  party  as  his  lawful  prey.  He  was  more  impatient 
still  of  the  necessary  delays  that  must  ensue  before  the 


176  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

Cherokees  could  be  in  case  to  strike  a  blow  in  revenge  for 
all  their  disasters,  plainly  registered  in  the  charred  tenant- 
less  towns  here  and  there  on  the  face  of  the  ravaged  land 
scape.  Laroche  sought  to  divert  his  mind,  to  placate  him 
anew,  to  excite  his  interest.  In  devising  subjects  of  talk 
the  Frenchman  often  attempted  to  sound  the  depths  of  the 
Cherokee  character  and  definitely  gauge  the  capacities  of 
the  tribe  to  receive  and  assimilate  the  values  of  civilization, 
that  thereby  he  might  deduce  something  of  the  force  that 
their  national  traits  would  exert  in  the  destinies  of  this  great 
continent.  For  instance,  he  would  argue  with  Moy  Toy 
upon  the  Indian  aversion  to  the  stability  and  permanence 
of  architecture. 

"  The  white  man  like  the  Indian  can  live  but  a  day  — 
why  should  his  house  outlast  him  ?  "  the  chief  would  protest 
stolidly. 

"  For  those  who  come  after,  —  since  houses  congregate 
into  cities,  and  cities  erect  nations,  and  nations  continue 
throughout  ages,  and  ages  are  aggregations  of  strength. 
What  is  done  in  a  day  lasts  but  a  day,"  retorted  the  sol 
dier. 

Thus  speculatively  disposed  he  would  seek  to  measure 
the  extent  and  divine  the  catastrophe  of  that  ancient  pre 
historic  civilization  of  which  his  keen  instinct  read  much 
in  the  scattered  fragments  along  the  shores  of  Time  :  in  the 
aboriginal  traditions,  unique  and  indefinitely  antique  ;  in  the 
ceremonials,  of  which  the  significance  was  lost  in  degeneracy, 
retaining  but  the  manner  without  the  matter,  the  shapeless 
shadow  of  an  unimagined  symmetry  ;  in  the  language,  ab 
solutely  individual,  he  thought,  with  copious  verbal  forms 
and  facile  locutions,  with  orderly  construction,  with  sub 
tle  shades  of  minutely  diverse  meanings,  with  large  and 
sonorous  adaptation  to  high  themes  ;  in  the  religion,  with 
its  elaborate  theory  of  symbolism  without  the  vital  spark. 
He  wondered  how  far  this  definite  cult,  seeming  almost 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  177 

inherent,  would  deter  the  Cherokees  from  a  conversion 
to  Christianity.  He  doubted  this  result  because  of  their 
earnest  observance  of  the  ritual  of  their  ancient  religion  and 
implicit  faith  in  its  sanctities.  Yet  Moy  Toy  was  himself 
the  suavest  of  postulants,  the  most  promising  of  catechu 
mens.  So  eagerly  he  listened  to  the  French  officer  who 
explained  the  grounds  of  his  own  belief  and  its  revolution 
izing  effects  upon  the  nations  of  all  the  world  —  not  failing 
to  turn  and  scan  the  number  of  tribesmen  in  the  band  from 
time  to  time,  to  make  sure  that  none  had  followed  with 
treacherous  intentions  the  trader's  train  —  that  many  an 
other  man  as  discerning  as  Laroche  yet  less  crafty  might 
have  been  deceived. 

Over  the  camp-fires  at  night  especially  Moy  Toy  seemed  to 
delight  in  repeating  some  of  the  more  simple  and  discursive 
details  of  the  day's  talk,  often  startling  Laroche  by  his 
powers  of  memory,  the  accuracy  of  his  comprehension,  and 
his  gift  of  mimicry.  Laroche  wondered  if  a  preference 
which  he  noted  for  biographical  details  might  be  ascribed  to 
that  fraternizing  instinct  to  realize  the  conditions  of  the  life 
of  man  in  whatever  age  or  country,  despite  the  lapse  of  time 
and  the  barriers  of  distance,  that  attests  the  universal 
brotherhood,  and  if  it  was  this  which  had  served  to  invest 
the  narrations  with  such  reality  and  had  so  strengthened 
the  grasp  of  his  mind  upon  them.  The  officer  found,  how 
ever,  a  curious  flavor  of  speculation  in  the  fact  that  try  as 
he  might  he  could  not  enlist  this  vivid  interest  in  the  inci 
dents  of  the  New  Testament.  The  sanguinary  histories  of 
the  Old  Testament,  dealing  oft  with  force  and  fraud,  met 
with  no  skeptical  reservations  or  evasions  from  Moy  Toy. 
The  motives  they  adduced  were  eminently  comprehensible  to 
him,  the  result  credible,  and  his  attitude  of  mind  applausive. 
But  with  the  gospel  of  love  and  meekness,  the  forgive 
ness  of  injuries  and  succor  of  enemies,  the  dictates  of  self- 
sacrifice  and  self-denial,  the  savage  had  no  pulse  in  unison. 


178  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

Moy  Toy  listened  as  his  obvious  policy  required.  Some 
times  he  commented. 

"  Christianity  is  to  make  the  red  men  good  ?  Then  tell 
me,  why  has  it  not  made  the  white  men  good  ?  —  they 
have  had  it  so  long  —  seventeen  hundred  years,  you  say, 
and  more !  " 

And  the  French  officer,  fairly  routed,  could  only  answer 
that  the  race  had  not  lived  up  to  its  best  opportunity. 

The  chief's  interest  in  the  ethical  phase  of  the  subject 
often  flagged,  however,  beyond  the  power  of  simulation. 
It  was  only  held  to  a  pretense  of  attention  by  the  inexorable 
etiquette  of  the  Cherokee,  however  prolix  his,  interlocutor, 
and  an  occult  intention  to  master  certain  knowledge  by  the 
ruse  of  surprise,  as  it  were.  But  inborn  subtlety  is  no 
match  for  the  ratiocination  of  cultivation,  and  Moy  Toy's 
instinct  was  fatally  at  fault  when  with  a  child-like  blandness 
and  irrelevance  he  casually  demanded,  "How  was  it,  did 
you  say  last  night,  that  the  good  San  Quawl  made  his  pow 
der  when  he  journeyed  down  to  the  city  of  Damascus  ?  " 
or  "  I  have  forgotten  how  many  pounds  of  powder  you  said 
the  brave  chief  Samson  put  under  the  gates  of  Gaza  when 
he  blew  them  up  to  carry  them  off." 

The  trail  of  the  earnest  dominant  desire  to  discover  that 
seigneurial  secret  of  civilization  that  made  it  the  lord  of  the 
world,  the  conqueror  of  force,  the  despot  of  right,  the  an- 
nihilator  of  numbers,  —  the  simple  formula  for  the  manu 
facture  of  gunpowder,  the  materials  for  which  Laroche  had 
already  assured  him  abounded  in  the  Cherokee  country,  — 
lay  through  all  the  devious  windings  of  their  talk,  and 
divulged  the  springs  of  self-interest  in  Moy  Toy's  affecta 
tions  of  the  dawnings  of  faith. 

On  each  occasion  the  revulsion  of  the  officer's  feeling 
was  so  great  that  the  betrayal  of  the  Indian's  motive  in 
searching  the  Scriptures,  and  his  conviction  that  the  ulti 
mate  value  of  the  white  man's  religion  lay  in  his  superior 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  179 

knowledge  of  destructive  explosives,  failed  to  excite  any 
cynical  amusement  in  Laroche,  and  roused  in  him  a  very 
genuine  indignation.  For  the  demonstration  always  came 
as  a  surprise  in  its  devious  methods,  half  incredulous  though 
he  was  as  to  the  eventual  conversion  of  the  Indian. 

"  Let  it  be  accounted  to  me  for  righteousness  that  I  do 
not  instantly  give  you  over !  "  Laroche  would  cry  angrily. 

It  was  essentially  the  pulse  of  the  church  militant  which 
animated  the  soldier.  His  patience  was  scant,  his  summons 
imperative.  "  Become  a  Christian,  or  I  '11  be  the  death  of 
you !  "  might  be  a  just  translation  of  his  urgency. 

And  in  good  sooth  his  easily  excited  anger  was  so  ob 
viously  genuine  on  each  recurrent  presentation  of  the  lure 
to  entrap  him  into  the  disclosure  of  the  secret  which  he 
had  promised  in  his  own  good  time  to  communicate,  that 
Moy  Toy  experienced  a  very  definite  alarm  lest  by  his  pre 
cipitancy  the  precious  knowledge  that  gave  the  white  man 
his  supremacy  might  be  snatched  from  the  Indian  forever. 
With  his  naturally  keen  faculties  thus  whetted,  Moy  Toy 
evolved  with  countercraft  a  diversion  that  appealed  irresist 
ibly  to  the  speculative  phase  of  Laroche's  intellect  and  for 
a  time  led  him  captive,  although  he  appreciated  fully  the 
trickery  of  the  intention  and  the  treachery  of  the  heart  of 
his  interlocutor. 

This  was  the  recital  of  the  Cherokee  traditions  of  the 
more  ancient  Scriptural  events,  —  the  creation,  the  flood,  the 
exodus,  —  knowledge  of  which  the  earliest  travelers  in  this 
region  found  already  implanted  among  that  singular  people, 
and,  with  certain  analogous  customs,  serving  to  add  so  much 
plausibility  to  the  theory  of  its  Hebraic  origin  —  even  yet 
to  be  accounted  for  by  vague  hypotheses  such  as  the  teach 
ings  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca  among  the  more  southern  tribes, 
thence  transmitted  northward.  If  this  be  the  source  of 
these  traditions,  it  is  singular,  to  say  the  least,  that  there 
should  be  among  them  none  of  the  essential  truths  of  the 


180  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWEK 

new  dispensation  nor  Koman  Catholic  legends  of  the  saints. 
Laroche  could  but  lend  heedful  attention  to  the  variant 
details  of  the  Cherokee  version  of  the  Patriarchal  and  Mo 
saic  dispensations,  and  now  and  again  pointed  out  to  Moy 
Toy  their  divergencies  from  the  true  and  only  word,  and 
much  he  meditated  upon  this  strange  disclosure  as  he  rode 
along  the  woodland  ways,  listening  in  his  turn. 

Sometimes  he  sought  to  modify  or  adjust  the  sacred 
writings  of  the  old  dispensation  to  the  interpretative  temper 
of  the  new,  always  held  in  check  by  the  Cherokee  version 
which  Moy  Toy  would  repeat  with  controversial  relish, 
keeping  pace  ha/ad  passibus  cequis.  For  the  savage,  obdu 
rate  to  the  wile  of  civilization,  was  yet  more  steeled  against 
the  advance  of  the  Christian  religion ;  and  indeed  modern 
instances  are  not  wanting,  sufficiently  dispiriting  to  the  stu 
dent  of  human  progress,  in  which  after  a  lifetime  of  the 
profession  of  Christianity  the  Cherokee  in  his  dying  hours 
openly  discards  the  religion  of  his  adoption  and  departs  to 
the  happy  hunting-grounds  in  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  going 
out  of  the  world  the  pagan  that  he  entered  it. 

Serious  as  was  the  subject  that  absorbed  Laroche' s 
thoughts,  the  deep  significance  of  his  speculations,  compris 
ing  the  origin  of  this  race,  its  perverted  destiny,  the  inten 
tions  of  the  Deity,  this  strange  glimpse  into  the  mystic  past, 
the  darker  mystery  of  the  veiled  future,  —  these  mighty 
interests  could  not  suffice  to  sustain  that  human  heart  of 
his  when  they  passed  once  more  the  trading-house,  silent 
and  deserted  at  loco  Town,  and  the  cottage  hard  by,  where 
he  had  lived  out  the  sweets  of  the  little  romance  snatched 
from  untoward  conditions.  He  smiled  sadly  and  tenderly 
at  the  thoughts  conjured  up  by  the  evening  glow  so  red  on 
the  gable  against  the  blue  sky.  Never  again  would  the 
fire  flash  forth  from  that  deserted  hearthstone  to  lure  the 
wanderer  home.  Never  again  would  the  gleam  of  the  can 
dle  rejoice  the  hospitable  board  that  welcomed  the  stranger. 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  181 

The  ingleside  was  cold  and  bleak,  and  would  soon  be  a  wreck, 
for  the  Indians  were  now  giving  the  roof  to  the  torch,  and 
he  watched  the  blaze  with  many  a  sentimental  pang,  but  did 
not  offer  remonstrance.  Better  thus  !  Ear  better  thus  !  It 
was  well  that  Jock  Lesly  should  not  be  tempted  back  by 
the  knowledge  that  his  old  nest  still  awaited  him  here,  for 
the  stout  heart  of  the  Scotch  trader  would  credit  no  less 
definite  a  portent  of  continued  danger  than  charred  timbers 
and  sacked  dwelling.  And  Laroche  honestly  believed  that 
the  day  of  the  great  British  trade  on  the  Tennessee  and  its 
neighboring  streams  was  over-past  now  and  forever. 

He  did  not  hesitate  when  once  more  at  Tellico  Great 
to  inaugurate  the  scheme,  the  progress  of  which  had  been 
delayed  months  ago  by  the  defection  of  Mingo  Push-koosh. 
For  it  was  here  on  the  banks  of  the  Tennessee  that  he  at 
last  recovered  his  old  identity,  lost  in  that  sweet  and  soft 
thrall  of  a  hopeless  love.  He  felt  again  a  free  man,  albeit  the 
glamours  of  the  evening  star  in  the  saffron  west  moved  him 
strangely.  He  threw  himself  ardently  into  all  those  plans 
so  long  in  abeyance  of  equipping  an  army  of  the  confederated 
tribes,  —  the  Choctaw,  the  Muscogee,  the  Cherokee,  and 
many  minor  bands,  —  and  the  problems  of  securing  munitions 
of  war,  of  the  transmission  of  supplies,  and  of  the  appor 
tionment  of  forces  absorbed  his  every  faculty.  Continually 
his  messengers  were  going  to  and  fro  in  the  Indian  coun 
try,  and  his  pettiaugres  dared  the  currents  of  those  swift 
difficult  rivers,  now  and  again  running  the  gauntlet  of  the 
musketry  of  the  inimical  Chickasaws  from  some  high  bluff. 
Secretly,  silently,  the  preparations  went  on  like  the  gather 
ing  mute  menace  of  a  sullen  storm  whose  ferocity  must 
burst  with  an  added  fury  from  its  long  repression.  All 
unsuspected  it  might  have  been,  although  the  expectation 
was  so  widely  extended,  save  for  the  arrogant  boastfulness 
of  some  far-away  Indian,  drunk  perhaps,  in  a  British  trad 
ing-house  or  the  bloody  culmination  of  an  individual  feud 


182  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

between  a  warrior  and  a  white  settler,  the  savage  unahle 
to  restrain  his  vengeful  anticipation  and  abide  the  accepted 
time. 

Fantastic  and  impotent  as  this  tenuous  scheme  may  seem 
now,  long  ago  shredded  by  the  mere  wind  of  the  flight  of 
time,  a  forgotten  fantasy,  not  to  be  more  considered  than 
the  snares  of  any  humble  spider  of  to-day  throwing  its 
fragile  enmeshments  from  crag  to  crag  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tennessee,  it  struck  cold  terror  to  the  hearts  of  the  royal 
governors  of  the  adjacent  British  provinces.  The  Spaniard, 
insolent  and  powerful,  openly  menaced  them  on  the  south, 
and  with  the  combination  of  the  French  and  Indians  they 
were  surrounded  and  without  recourse.  They  had  little 
to  hope  from  one  another,  save  perhaps  an  unacknowledged 
aspiration  on  the  part  of  each  that  the  other  might  first 
tempt  the  attack  of  the  designing  projector  of  the  new 
Indian  alliance  and  serve  as  a  sop  to  Cerberus.  Each  was 
in  terror  of  a  plea  of  assistance  from  the  other,  for  the  colo 
nies  themselves  lacked  that  strength  which  comes  from 
union  and  which  Laroche  sought  to  instill  into  the  policy 
of  the  tribes.  Each  .province  being  incapable  of  self-de 
fense  with  its  weak,  untrained  militia,  its  inadequate  sup 
plies  of  munitions  of  war,  its  vast  wildernesses  and  stretches 
of  unfortified  frontier,  was  averse  to  dividing  its  slight  re 
sources.  Roused,  however,  to  the  terror  lest  immediate 
massacre  of  outlying  stationers  ensue,  a  consultation  was  held 
and  a  remonstrance,  adroit,  sugared,  promising  yet  threat 
ening  withal,  addressed  by  the  Governor  of  South  Carolina 
to  Cunigacatgoah 8  of  Chote,  now  the  nominal  head  of  the 
Cherokee  government,  was  framed  and  sent  by  the  hand 
of  one  of  the  Kooasahte  Indians,  who  chanced  to  be  in 
Charlestown,  with  whose  tribe  the  Cherokees  were  now  at 
peace. 

"He  returned  after  a  swift  journey  with  a  most  pacific  an 
swer,  protesting  and  reproachful,  Cunigacatgoah  demanding 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  183 

to  be  informed  of  a  single  infraction  of  the  terms  of  the 
treaty,  bating,  of  course,  wild,  irresponsible  rumors.  If  the 
governor  could  cite  one  such  for  which  the  nation  could  be 
fairly  considered  responsible,  he  would  himself  come  down 
to  Charlestown  to  answer  for  it  in  person. 

Governor  Boone,  surprised  yet  reassured  by  the  unexpected 
character  of  this  reply,  sought  to  further  assuage  his  anxiety 
by  catechising  his  messenger  as  to  the  state  of  matters  in  the 
Cherokee  country.  He  found  the  mind  of  the  Kooasahte, 
never  forceful  at  best,  in  that  flighty,  agitated  state  to  be 
described  as  all  agog.  Obviously  the  man  had  been  im 
mensely  impressed  by  what  he  had  seen  and  been  able  to 
learn.  By  no  means  willing  to  disclose  all,  still  his  eyes 
were  opened  to  new  possibilities  of  savage  ascendancy. 
Under  adroit  cross-examination  he  divulged  extraordinary 
suggestions  of  the  suddenly  developed  magnificence  of  Moy 
Toy  of  Tellico  and  of  the  wonderful  powers  of  a  strange 
magician  who  was  Moy  Toy's  friend,  yet  whom  he  affirmed 
was  a  white  man,  and  whose  nationality  he  accidentally  dis 
closed  as  French. 

Whereupon  Governor  Boone  grew  more  mystified  than 
before.  Finally  he  bethought  himself  to  send  for  Jock 
Lesly  as  one  who,  having  been  intimately  acquainted  with 
the  personnel  and  conditions  of  the  Cherokee  country  for 
years  past,  might  perchance  explain  the  inconsistency  of  all 
these  antagonistic  details. 

The  doughty  Scotch  trader  had  accounted  the  burning  of 
his  buildings  and  the  plunder  of  his  goods,  of  which  he  had 
been  informed  indirectly  by  rumor,  as  but  an  accident  or  a 
bit  of  unwarranted  and  wanton  mischief,  and  by  no  means  as 
the  definite  threat  that  Laroche  had  supposed  he  would  per 
ceive  therein.  His  daughter,  however,  had  insisted  that  the 
demonstration  was  inimical  and  in  no  wise  to  be  braved. 
Jock  Lesly  enjoyed  much  domestic  oratory  in  these  days 
which  his  "  Whist,  whist,  my  bairn  ! "  was  powerless  to 


184  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

silence,  and  feminine  logic  won  the  battle  when  she  persisted 
that  if  he  returned  to  loco  Town  she  would  accompany  him, 
for  if  it  were  safe  for  him  it  was  safe  for  her  !  Thereupon 
he  hauled  down  his  flag ;  and  now  as  he  needs  must  rebuild 
wherever  he  should  go,  he  was  idly  awaiting  in  Charlestown 
a  propitious  opportunity  of  reestablishment  elsewhere  under 
more  permanent  conditions. 

Jock  Lesly,  cocking  his  sharp  blue  eyes  at  the  cringing 
Kooasahte,  a  degenerate  specimen  of  a  warlike  tribe,  obvi 
ously  regarded  the  whole  history  of  his  visit  as  a  fable. 

"  Gin  your  excellency  wad  forgie  the  freedom,  the  man  is 
a  beautiful  liar !  " 

"Was  there  no  white  man  there  when  you  left  ?  " 

"  Nane,  sir  —  that  is  —  f orbye  a  bit  chiel  o'  a  Fir- 
ginian  on  his  way  hame  —  he  had  cam  doun  wi'  a  wheen 
o'  neighbors  to  herd  up  some  stray  horses  that  had  been 
sold  to  the  Williamsburg  region  and  had  gane  back  to  their 
auld  grass  in  the  Cherokee  country.  He  fell  ailin',  an'  his 
friends  went  on  wi'  the  horses  an'  lef  him  amang  the 
Injuns,  —  an'  he  foregathered  wi'  us.  He  cam  part  o'  the 
way  hame  wi'  us,  but  struck  aff  a  considerable  way  aboon 
Fort  Prince  George  to  go  aff  to  Firginia." 

"  He  could  not  be  this  man,  you  think  ?  Does  he 
speak  French  ?  " 

"  He  ?  Tarn  Wilson  speak  French  ?  "  exclaimed  Jock 
Lesly,  with  a  hearty  rollicking  laugh  in  his  enjoyment  of 
his  superior  discernment.  "  Your  excellency  disna  ken 
thae  carles  out  on  the  frontier !  Tarn  Wilson  ha'  enow  to 
do  to  speer  his  wull  in  English,  —  puir  fallow  !  " 

This  seemed  definitive  ;  Jock  Lesly  therefore  was  pre 
sently  dismissed,  and  the  gratuity  which  the  Kooasahte  re 
ceived  was  of  limited  value  and  quality,  which  he  had  not 
expected  nor  had  the  governor  intended,  because  he  had  told 
the  truth,  which  chanced  to  be  unwelcome  and  discredited. 
He  went  away,  his  heart  hot  within  him,  sending  forth  fumes 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  185 

of  rum,  which  the  present  sufficed  to  procure,  and  sedition, 
which  the  present  was  not  adequate  to  annul. 

Meanwhile  life  on  the  hanks  of  the  Tennessee  at  Tellico 
Great  flowed  on  as  gently  as  the  river.  Laroche  had  re 
ceived  orders  to  seek  adoption  into  the  Cherokee  tribe,  ac 
cording  to  the  wont  of  the  intriguing  French,  that  he  might 
thereby  recruit  his  influence  and  improve  his  control.  Thus 
he  could  better  restrain  their  bellicose  demonstrations  till 
the  time  was  ripe  for  revolt,  lest  precipitancy  annul  its  values. 
Hence  he  became  officially  a  Cherokee. 

That  singular  atmosphere  of  fraternity  peculiar  to  the 
Indian  method  of  adoption  encompassed  Laroche  like  a  na 
tive  element.  It  seemed  no  longer  inspired  by  self-interest. 
He  was  as  one  of  the  nation,  —  theirs  in  success  or  defeat, 
theirs  in  weal  or  woe  !  He  had  polled  his  head  and  painted 
his  face  and  donned  their  garb.  He  had  been  initiated  into 
their  mysteries  and  had  accepted  their  religion ;  for  the 
Cherokees  were  no  idolaters,  and  without  mockery  he  could 
bow  in  worship  to  a  Great  Spirit,  albeit  with  many  a  men 
tal  reservation  and  evasion  in  the  ceremonies  in  which  he  par 
ticipated.  His  suspicions  were  never  allayed,  —  but  they 
were  in  his  mind,  not  in  theirs,  —  and  he  was  not  the  more 
content.  Now  and  again  as  he  danced  with  the  braves  in 
three  circles  on  the  sandy  spaces  of  the  "  beloved  square  " 
to  the  shrilling  of  a  flute,  fashioned  of  the  tibia  of  a  deer, 
and  to  the  thunderous  drone  of  the  earthen  drums,  while 
strange  figures  such  as  might  grace  pandemonium  whirled 
about  him,  —  hardly  human  figures  ;  some  with  grotesquely 
frightful  masks  of  gourds  hiding  faces  scarcely  less  hideous  j 
some  almost  nude ;  some  smeared  over  with  unguents  as  a 
groundcoat  to  make  adhere  a  medley  of  feathers  and  foster 
the  semblance  of  gigantic  birds,  —  a  great  repulsion  would 
seize  him ;  every  civilized  pulse  would  clamor  against  these 
uncouth  follies,  against  the  sacrifice  of  time  and  identity 
and  wonted  usage  in  this  cause  j  and  he  would  feel  that  the 


186  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

destruction  of  all  the  British  colonies,  could  it  be  compassed, 
was  not  worth  the  price  which  he  paid.  The  recollection 
of  the  sane,  orderly  customs  of  the  life  to  which  he  was 
native  rose  up  before  him  with  a  sentiment  of  reproach,  as 
one  might  feel  in  ascertaining  the  realities  in  the  lucid  in 
terval  of  some  tormenting  mania.  He  was  abashed  by  the 
mere  contemplation  of  the  mountains  rising  on  every  side, 
silent,  austere,  as  majestically  aloof  from  the  farce  which  he 
enacted  as  the  sky  above  or  the  world  —  the  civilized  world 
that  he  had  known  and  loved  —  far,  far  away. 

To  add  to  his  discomforts  the  interval  which  he  was  to 
spend  thus  was  destined  to  be  longer  than  had  been  antici 
pated.  Aggressive  measures  were  again  postponed,  and  his 
activities  suspended  by  orders  which  he  received  from  New 
Orleans.  For  it  had  latterly  been  developed  that  the  British 
government  contemplated  securing  a  considerable  cession  of 
land  from  the  Cherokees,  thinking  that  in  thus  increasing 
its  holding  in  the  Indian  country  to  keep  the  tribe  more 
definitely  under  its  domination  and  influence,  and  to  quiet 
the  title  to  certain  territory,  on  which  they  claimed  the  gov 
ernment  had  encroached.  The  French,  with  their  resources 
much  exhausted  by  the  Seven  Years'  War,  now  slowly  drag 
ging  its  length  along,  were  almost  crippled  in  America  for 
the  lack  of  ready  cash,  and  their  plans  for  the  Cherokees 
would  be  considerably  recruited  by  the  purchase  money  of 
the  land  thus  poured  into  the  tribal  coffers.  The  wily  In 
dians  were  enchanted  with  so  hopeful  a  prospect  of  securing 
the  means  to  purchase  sufficient  arms  and  ammunition  to 
repel  the  British  and  attain  their  old  independence  anew. 
Though  they  had  never  doubted  the  will  of  the  French  gov 
ernment  in  Louisiana  to  forward  these  measures,  its  capacity 
to  furnish  adequate  ammunition  had  failed  signally  more 
than  once. 

At  this  period,  while  Laroche  was  awaiting  decisive  ad 
vices  from  New  Orleans,  the  progress  of  events  seemed  sus- 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  187 

pended.  Hope,  anxiety,  fear  were  in  abeyance.  He  spent 
mnich  time  in  the  perfecting  of  the  details  of  his  plan  and 
in  the  correspondence  incident  to  the  enterprise.  As  he 
grew  more  wearied  with  the  monotonous  association  with 
the  Indians,  he  took  advantage  of  his  leisure  to  send  long 
discursive  letters  to  his  comrades  in  the  southern  forts 
whenever  he  chanced  to  have  a  messenger  going  that  way, 
—  to  Captain  Pierre  Chabert  at  Fort  Tombecbe  or  the 
Chevalier  Lavnoue  at  Fort  Toulouse. 

Cold,  wet  weather  set  in  late  in  the  summer,  a  long,  dreary, 
unseasonable  interval.  When  the  rains  came  down  in  thin, 
persistent,  fibrous  lines,  and  the  surface  of  the  river  palpi 
tated  and  throbbed  beneath  its  multitudinous  touches,  and 
the  gathering  gray  mists  half  shrouded  then  half  revealed 
those  endless  lengths  of  dark-hued  solemn  mountains,  and 
the  trees  dripped  drearily,  and  the  wind  surged  and  sobbed 
amidst  their  boughs,  the  susceptible  Frenchman  reached 
the  lowest  ebb  of  his  isolation,  his  dissatisfaction,  and  his 
yearning  wish  to  feel  again  the  throbbing  pulse  of  civili 
zation. 

Thus  it  was  that  for  many  hours  of  those  chill  nights  in 
the  quaint  winter-house,  without  window  or  chimney,  while 
the  rain  would  pour  down  the  conical  earthen  roof,  re 
sounding  like  a  drum,  he  would  seek  for  solace  in  writing 
those  long  letters  to  his  military  friends  describing  his 
plight,  and  commenting  on  the  news  of  the  day  received 
chiefly  through  their  responses. 

All  unmindful  of  him  and  his  occupations,  the  other  in 
mates  of  the  house  lay  sleeping,  stretched  in  a  line,  on  the 
couch  of  cane  that  ran  along  the  red  clay  walls  of  the  circular 
room,  behind  the  row  of  pillars  which  upheld  the  conical 
roof.  Even  the  heads  were  covered  with  the  wolfskins  and 
bearskins  that  formed  the  drapery  of  their  elastic  cane  mat 
tresses.  All  unmindful  of  him  they  were  —  all  except  Moy 
Toy. 


188  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

The  fire  would  flare  up  now  and  again,  showing  the 
colonnade  of  pillars,  the  cane  couch,  and  above,  the  circular 
wall  of  the  rich  red  hue  of  the  clay  of  that  country,  with 
here  and  there  upon  it  quaint  hieroglyphics  in  parti-colored 
paints,  or  a  decorated  buffalo  hide  suspended,  or  a  curiously 
carven  pipe  of  stone  with  some  famous  scalp  attached,  while 
the  scroll-like  thin  blue  smoke  eddied  overhead,  pressing 
closer  and  closer  to  its  exit  at  the  smoke  hole.  All  gradually 
flickered  and  dulled  and  blurred  into  a  dusky  red  glow  in 
which  naught  was  distinguishable  but  vague  reminiscent 
shadows,  the  mass  of  smouldering  coals  in  the  centre  of 
the  floor,  and  the  spirited  blond  Gallic  face  of  Laroche  with 
his  incongruous  Indian  garb,  bending  intent,  eager,  absorbed, 
above  the  page  as  he  wrote.  Not  till  the  page  also  grew 
dim  would  he  rouse  himself  and  throw  off  the  gathering 
ashes.  Then  as  the  responsive  flame  leaped  up  white  and 
vivid,  he  would  look  back  along  the  paper  to  review  the 
last  paragraphs,  and  with  a  freshened  brightness  of  aspect 
apply  himself  anew  to  his  task.  Moy  Toy's  keen  eye  had 
grown  to  distinguish  a  certain  difference  of  expression  when 
the  military  expert  wrought  upon  the  problems  of  his  enter 
prise,  —  the  alert,  elevated  look,  puzzled  now  and  then,  but 
intellectual,  powerful,  confident,  and  in  contrast  the  twin 
kling  eye,  the  sarcastic  curving  lip,  the  sly,  devil-may-care, 
gibing  nod,  and  yet  sometimes  the  plaintive  dejection  with 
which  he  made  those  "  black  marks  "  which  he  sent  away 
to  his  correspondents  in  the  southern  forts. 

"  You  are  my  friend,  the  friend  of  my  heart,  and  you 
know  everything/'  Moy  Toy  once  said  suddenly  out  of  the 
dreary  midnight,  when  the  dizzy  rain  was  whirling  abroad 
in  a  witch's  dance  with  the  wind,  the  mountains  were  lost 
in  the  density  of  night,  and  the  river  had  become  but  a 
voice  in  the  vast  voids  of  the  outer  atmosphere. 

Laroche  looked  up  suddenly  from  where  he  sat  on  a  buf 
falo  rug  before  the  red  glow  of  the  coals.  He  wrote  upon 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  189 

one  knee,  but  the  inkhorn  was  close  by  on  the  floor,  and 
he  placed  one  hand  over  it,  in  careful  forethought,  that  a 
friendly  dog,  nosing  about  with  the  conviction  that  it  held 
refection  of  worth,  might  not  overturn  it.  However 
Laroche's  hair  was  clipped  it  sprang  anew  and  there  was  a 
curling  fringe  under  the  edge  of  his  cap,  which  was  fash 
ioned  of  otter  fur  and  bordered  with  white  swan's  feathers. 
His  hunting-shirt  was  of  otter  fur  and  his  leggings  of  buck 
skin  heavily  fringed  and  terminating  in  a  pair  of  buskins ; 
these  were  dyed  scarlet  and  gayly  decorated  with  quills. 
His  face,  with  its  expression  of  intellectual  absorption,  was 
inconceivably  at  variance  with  his  attire  and  the  place. 
He  said  nothing,  but  his  hazel  eyes  looked  an  expectant  in 
quiry,  and  seeing  him  silent  Moy  Toy  spoke  again. 

"  Wonderful  friend  !  though  your  knowledge  is  no  more 
to  be  moved  or  shaken  than  the  mountains,  yet  you  have  the 
changeable  countenance. " 

"  It  is  you  who  know  everything  !  "  said  Laroche,  laugh 
ing,  but  very  distinctly  embarrassed. 

Moy  Toy,  encouraged  by  this  appreciation,  began  to  put 
his  impressions  into  words.  "  When  you  make  black  marks 
on  those  papers  which  you  treasure,  and  which  I  am  sure 
must  belong  to  your  beautiful  artillery,  or  else  to  make 
powder,  or  perhaps  to  the  fine  plans  for  the  great  fort  which 
we  are  to  have  here  one  day,  your  face  is  the  same  it  has 
always  been,  and  as  those  who  love  you  must  love  to  see  it. 
But  when  you  write  the  black  marks  which  you  send  to  the 
commandants  of  the  forts  in  the  south,  your  eyes  grow  little, 
and  they  twinkle,  and  your  mouth  is  pursed  for  lies,  and  you 
nod  your  head  with  a  risky  air,  and  you  look  more  wicked 
than  clever !  " 

Laroche  listened  in  silence.  Then  suddenly  he  burst  out 
laughing.  He  hastily  suppressed  the  tone  of  loud  hilarity, 
for  one  of  the  sleepers  stirred  and  turned,  but  fell  a-snoring 
again. 


190  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

"  It  is  the  commandants  who  are  wicked,"  he  said,  smil 
ing  retrospectively.  "  I  answer  them  only  in  their  own 
vein  —  sardonic,  witty,  half-malicious  fellows." 

"  And  what  makes  them  so  wicked  ?  " 

"  They  are  so  close  to  the  English,  perhaps,  —  they  learn 
all  they  know  from  the  English." 

Moy  Toy  gazed  at  the  smiling  face  with  a  doubtful 
anxiety,  some  withheld  thought,  a  half  formed  purpose  in 
abeyance. 

Laroche  had  had  occasion  to  note  that  jealousy  of  the 
"  black  marks  "  of  civilization  which  seemed  to  animate  all 
the  Indians  of  that  day,  powerless  to  restrain  this  mysteri 
ous  opportunity  of  communicating  the  most  secret  thought 
a  thousand  miles  by  the  stroke  of  a  pen.  He  had  been 
somewhat  irked  to  discover  in  addition  a  sort  of  pettish  tri 
bal  jealousy  on  the  part  of  Moy  Toy  toward  this  interest  in 
the  southern  forts.  The  chief  desired  that  the  officer's  en 
tire  attention  should  be  concentrated  on  the  welfare  of  the 
Cherokee  nation,  and  deprecated  that  any  advancement  or 
opportunity  should  be  afforded  through  his  means  to  the 
various  Alabama  tribes  congregated  about  those  forts. 
Laroche  was  an  adopted  Cherokee,  and  why  should  he  so 
delight  in  writing  to  the  forts  aux  Alibamons  ! 

It  had  always  seemed  to  Laroche  that  the  intercepting  of 
a  letter  was  essentially  a  civilized  emprise,  but  the  process 
was  invented,  as  it  were,  in  the  brain  of  this  specious  Indian. 
As  the  commandants  of  Fort  Tombecbe'  and  Fort  Toulouse 
knew  so  much  about  the  wicked  English,  perhaps  it  was  not 
well  to  keep  longer  between  the  folds  of  the  soft  panther 
and  wolf  skins  that  formed  the  furnishings  of  the  couch 
of  the  chief  a  missive  addressed  to  Lieutenant  Jean  Marie 
Edouard  Bodin  de  Laroche,  and  sealed  with  a  big  official 
splash  of  wax. 

"  Here,"  said  Moy  Toy,  without  the  least  confusion  as  he 
produced  it,  "  I  thought  too  many  times  you  nodded  your 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  191 

head  toward  Fort  Toulouse  and  you  might  soon  speak  with 
the  forked  tongue  of  Lavnoue.  But  perhaps  he  may  tell 
the  truth  when  his  heart  weighs  heavy  with  the  thought 
of  the  English." 

Laroche  stared  with  amazed  displeasure.  The  color  rose 
indignantly  to  his  cheeks.  He  was  about  to  utter  a  vehe 
ment  remonstrance,  hut  paused  to  break  the  seal  which  should 
have  parted  under  his  fingers  three  weeks  earlier.  Then  he 
forgot  this  encroachment  upon  his  vested  rights. 

For  the  letter  was  a  warning,  heralding  the  approach  of 
British  soldiers. 


THERE  stood  a  quaint,  grotesque  figure  in  the  midst  of 
the  level  spaces  about  Chilhowee,  Old  Town.  It  main 
tained  its  stiff,  stanch  pose  alike  through  shadow  and  sheen  ; 
oblivious  of  night  or  day  ;  unmindful  of  the  rain  that  the 
sudden  mountain  storms  now  and  again  sent  surging  down 
from  over  the  summit  of  the  Chilhowee  Range,  looming  high 
above ;  disdainful  of  the  wind  that  fluttered  the  fringes  of 
its  buckskin  shirt  and  leggings  arid  slanted  the  feathers  of  its 
war-bonnet  askew,  and  flouted  and  buffeted  its  aged,  painted, 
fantastic  face. 

So  like  a  grim  old  warrior  in  good  truth  was  the  adroitly 
constructed  effigy  that  Callum  Macllvesty  long  remembered 
the  day  when  first  he  beheld  it  upon  entering  the  Cherokee 
town  of  Chilhowee,  and  was  moved  to  wrath  because  of  its 
surly,  important,  inimical  attitude  and  fixed  aggressive  stare. 
Only  the  closest  scrutiny  enabled  him  to  realize  that  it  was 
but  a  scarecrow,  albeit  the  cleverest  of  its  type,  with  a 
painted  gourd  for  a  head  and  a  gaudily  arrayed  body  of 
fagots  and  straw.  But  he  did  not  then  even  vaguely  divine 
that  he  was  ever  to  hold  a  closer  association  with  the  image, 
or  that  years  afterward  and  far  away  the  mere  recollection 
of  its  aspect  in  his  sleeping  fancies  would  wake  him  to  a 
breathless  fright  and  dreary  reminiscences  of  a  most  trou 
blous  episode  in  a  chequered  history. 

The  scene  was  bright  with  the  varying  luminosity  of  the 
azure  tints  of  the  mountains  of  the  distance  ;  nearer  the 
hue  of  the  wooded  heights  deepened  to  the  richest  autumnal 
crimson  and  bronze  as  they  drew  close  about  the  gap  where 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  193 

the  Tennessee  River  flows  through  the  Great  Smoky  Moun 
tains  and  pierces  the  Chilhowee  Range  to  the  very  heart. 
The  metallic  lustre  of  the  water  was  now  like  silver,  now 
like  steel,  and  again  showed  a  burnished  copper  glister  where 
its  surges  had  washed  a  hank  of  red  clay;  occasionally  a 
white  drift  of  swans  was  on  its  current,  or  a  deer  swam  gal 
lantly  across ;  and  once  a  group  of  buffaloes,  pausing  to 
drink  at  the  margin,  lifted  their  heads,  apparently  as  un 
afraid  as  tame  neat  cattle,  to  gaze  with  a  dull  bovine  curi 
osity  at  the  party  of  equestrians  and  the  detachment  of 
British  foot-soldiers  on  the  opposite  shore. 

All  the  ancient  Cherokee  customs  were  still  in  vogue, 
although  destined  soon  to  fall  away  with  a  suddenness  that 
confounds  history  and  almost  baffles  tradition,  suggesting, 
indeed,  the  instantaneous  transition  to  dust  of  some  prehis 
toric  skeleton  at  the  first  touch  of  the  disintegrating  air. 
Even  at  that  date,  however,  with  the  obvious  doom  of 
evanescence  upon  them,  a  certain  curiosity  concerning  them 
was  very  general  among  those  equipped  for  the  archaic 
speculations  in  which  Laroche.  had  found  an  interest ;  there 
was  a  general  quickening  of  the  pace  of  the  horses  as  sev 
eral  riders  closed  about  a  sedate,  middle-aged  personage, 
spare  and  tall,  of  great  length  of  limb  and  evident  strength 
and  toughness,  who  wore  a  suit  of  buckskin  and  was  a  sur 
veyor  of  long  experience  on  the  frontier,  and  who  proceeded 
to  explain  the  reason  for  the  extraordinary  vraisemblance 
of  the  effigy. 

"  The  Indians  have  aye  a  crafty  turn,"  he  said.  In  illus 
trating  this  fact  he  narrated  how  the  "  second  man  "  of  the 
town,  "  a  bailiff  belike,"  induced  the  young  people  to  believe 
that  the  scarecrow  was  the  reincarnated  spirit  of  an  ancient 
warrior,  an  ancestor,  who  had  come  back  to  overlook  their 
work.  Keeping  them  at  a  sufficient  distance,  the  "  second 
man  "  was  wont  to  tell  wonderful  stories  of  the  exploits  of 
the  mythical  warrior  of  Chilhowee,  the  evil  influences  of  his 


194  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

anger  against  the  idle,  and  the  "benefits  of  pleasing  him  by 
industry.  The  women  and  girls  would  believe  this,  and  thus 
to  song  and  story  the  work  would  go  merrily  on. 

The  gentleman  directly  addressed  by  the  surveyor  was 
apparently  of  a  higher  and  more  fastidious  grade.  He  was 
sprucely  arrayed  in  brown  cloth  of  a  trim  cut  and  a  fine 
texture,  with  a  cocked  hat,  dapper  yet  sober.  His  fresh 
pink  cheek  and  chin  were  smoothly  shaven,  the  first  slightly 
wrinkled,  the  latter  cleft  with  a  line  that  duplicated  its  con 
tours.  His  black  "  solitaire  "  was  accurately  adjusted  about 
his  neck.  His  bag-wig  was  the  most  decorous  appendage 
of  that  fantastic  sort  that  ever  swung  behind  a  vzell-f urnished 
and  elaborately  trained  brain.  That  he  was  the  exponent 
of  some  kind  of  careful  scientific  learning  was  apparent  to 
the  most  undiscerning  wight  at  the  first  glance.  Indeed, 
the  English  surveyor  in  offering  this  bit  of  information  as  to 
Indian  customs  was  making  but  a  scant  return  for  the  lar 
gess  of  botanical  lore  that  had  strewn  the  way  from  Charles- 
town  full  five  hundred  miles  thicker  than  ever  were  leaves 
in  Vallombrosa. 

As  the  botanist  contemplated  the  broad  fields  in  cultiva 
tion  he  began  to  speak.  "This  pompion,  now, — the  vari 
ety  of  CucurbitaPepo, — that  the  Indians  grow," — and  at  the 
phrase  a  British  officer  resplendent  in  scarlet  coat,  white 
breeches,  cocked  hat,  and  powdered  hair,  with  a  look  of 
shocked  revolt  checked  his  horse  so  suddenly  as  to  throw 
the  animal  back  upon  the  haunches  and  to  discommode  the 
advance  of  the  infantry  escort  that  followed,  consisting  of 
thirty  English  soldiers  of  his  own  company  and  a  detach 
ment  of  twenty  Scotch  Highlanders. 

If  Lieutenant  John  Francis  Everard  could,  he  would  have 
banished  from  the  memory  of  man  all  Latin  plant  names, 
for  before  he  was  fifty  miles  out  from  Charlestown  he  was 
glutted  with  information  concerning  the  vegetable  products 
of  the  earth  on  which  he  lived.  He  felt  that  had  he  a 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  195 

retroactive  power  in  cosmogony  this  world  should  have  heen 
created  a  leafless  ball.  From  the  beginning  of  the  march 
his  spirit  quailed  in  the  presentiment  of  the  tortures  of 
learned  converse  that  were  destined  to  wreck  the  pleasure 
and  almost  the  possibility  of  the  expedition.  Indeed,  it  was 
only  the  second  day  out  that  he  summoned  Callum  Mac- 
Ilvesty  from  the  ranks  of  the  marching  Highlanders  arid 
bending  down  nearly  to  the  saddle  bow  said  in  a  bated  voice 
of  consternation,  "  Callum  Bane,  do  you  see  that  old  man  ? 
Why,  "  in  an  appalled  staccato,  "  he  is  almost  as  bad  as  ex- 
Governor  Ellis  of  Georgia  !  "  By  which  he  meant  to  imply 
almost  as  learned,  member  of  almost  as  many  scientific  asso 
ciations,  perhaps  even  a  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  almost 
as  acute  in  making  observations,  atmospheric,  botanic,  geo 
logic,  almost  as  industrious  in  jotting  them  down,  almost  as 
oblivious  of  the  gayer  and  more  frivolous  interests  of  life. 

To  Lieutenant  Everard  was  intrusted  the  command  of 
this  small  military  force  to  escort  certain  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  government  to  the  Cherokee  country  for 
the  purpose  of  treating  with  the  Indians  concerning  the 
projected  cession  of  land,  which  was  not  made,  however,  for 
several  years  thereafter,  because  of  an  incident  of  much  sig 
nificance  here  chronicled  —  in  fact  not  until  1768.  In 
view  of  the  doubtful  temper  of  the  Cherokees  and  the 
unsettled  state  of  the  country,  it  was  exclusively  and  com 
prehensively  his  duty  to  see  to  it  that  the  heads  of  these 
gentlemen  were  unmolested,  with  their  brains  securely  inside 
and  their  scalps  securely  outside,  nor  were  they  expected  in 
return  to  minister  in  any  degree  to  his  entertainment.  But 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  Lieutenant  Everard  would 
have  regarded  a  brisk  brush  with  Indian  enemies  with  less 
awe,  despite  his  slight  numerical  strength,  than  the  ponder 
ous  themes,  the  weighty  presence,  the  worshipful  gravity 
of  the  commissioners  of  the  crown.  There  was  not  a  con 
versable  person  among  them,  in  the  estimation  of  the  gay 


196  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

and  dapper  lieutenant,  and  the  march  thither  and  back,  with 
the  negotiations  at  Chote,  was  calculated  to  occupy  a  matter 
of  many  weeks.  The  surveyor  was  of  the  same  ultra-sober 
type,  and  the  subordinate  attendants  he  considered  as  un 
befitting  his  society.  Of  course  familiar  association  with 
the  men  of  his  company,  having  only  their  non-commis 
sioned  officers,  was  inappropriate,  even  if  their  ruder  breed 
ing  had  not  rendered  them  unacceptable. 

Thus  it  was  that  after  a  day  or  two  of  floundering  out 
of  his  element,  he  was  thrown  upon  Callum  Macllvesty  for 
solace.  For  he  knew  that  Macllvesty,  although  serving  in 
the  ranks,  was  a  man  better  born  and  better  bred  than  him 
self.  Of  course  he  was  aware  that  the  train  of  woes,  the 
attainder  for  treason  and  forfeiture  of  estates,  following  the 
rebellions  of  1715  and  1745,  wrecking  a  number  of  noble 
families,  brought  to  the  ground  the  branches  as  well  as  the 
parent  stem ;  and  in  this  instance  Callum's  commanding 
officer  had  acquainted  Lieutenant  Everard  with  the  "gen 
tleman  ranker's"  name  and  condition  just  before  their 
departure  from  Charlestown,  when  this  small  detachment 
of  Highlanders  was  ordered  to  reinforce  the  escort,  as  they 
were  familiar  with  the  wild  country,  a  number  of  them 
having  served  with  the  British  troops  in  this  region  the 
two  preceding  years  during  the  Cherokee  War. 

The  forlorn  young  officer,  so  grievously  solitary  in  this 
expedition,  soon  ceased  to  ride  with  the  commissioners,  and 
fell  into  the  habit  first  of  riding  near  the  Highlander  as 
Callum  Macllvesty,  alert,  active,  with  a  vivid  interest  in  life, 
strode  along  in  the  marching  column  whose  fluttering  tartans 
played  tag  with  the  wind  and  whose  burnished  accoutre 
ments  set  up  a  bright  kaleidoscopic  glitter  at  the  vanishing 
point  of  many  a  winding  woodland  perspective.  When  the 
talk  grew  more  animated  and  the  interest  keener,  Lieutenant 
Everard  would  throw  the  reins  to  an  orderly  and  march 
on  foot  beside  his  new-found  friend  in  his  lowly  place ; 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  197 

whereat  the  first  sergeant  of  the  English  detachment  would 
glance  at  the  nearest  corporal  with  meaning  eyes,  and  all 
adown  the  column  the  scarlet  elbows  of  the  fours  called 
"  battle  comrades "  would  give  each  other  the  touch  with 
more  emphasis  than  the  effort  to  march  in  due  alignment 
necessitated.  Often,  however,  in  fact  most  usually,  the 
whole  force  marched  with  the  route  step,  when  conversation 
was  admissible  and  comment  freer  than  before.  For  it  was 
obviously  a  derogation  from  the  dignity  of  a  commissioned 
officer  to  continue  this  familiar  association  with  a  common 
soldier  and  in  so  far  subversive  of  discipline,  and  when  the 
crisis  came  there  were  those  amply  prepared  to  say  "  I  told 
you  so ! " 

"The  lieutenant  wouldn't  demean  himself  by  walkin' 
an?  talkin'  familiar  with  a  non-com  like  me,'7  the  first  ser 
geant  of  the  English  contingent  averred.  "  An'  I  can't  see 
as  I  am  a  worse  man  or  a  less  loyal  subjec'  'cause  I  ain't  got 
fine,  titled  kin  taken  in  open  rebellion  an'  attainted  o'  trea 
son —  one  of  'em,  Callum's  great  uncle,  was  executed  for 
treason  and  his  head  perched  up  over  a  city  gate  —  there 
yet,  for  aught  I  know  !  " 

For  this  was  the  fate  of  many  of  the  good  and  noble  who 
had  adhered  to  the  political  faith  of  their  fathers. 

The  Highlanders  of  the  escort,  however,  some  of  whom 
were  rescued  from  imbroglio  on  this  theme  by  a  simple  in 
capacity  to  speak  or  understand  a  word  of  English,  and  who 
clattered  away  cheerily  enough  together  in  Gaelic,  deemed 
this  association  no  sort  of  condescension  on  the  part  of 
Lieutenant  Everard.  So  well  aware  were  they  of  the  claims 
to  distinction  of  sundry  ancestors  of  Callum  Macllvesty  that 
this  penniless  scion  of  a  line  of  half  mythical  Highland 
princes,  extending  back  in  dim  procession  into  the  mists  of 
ages,  seemed  far  superior  in  social  status  to  Lieutenant 
Everard,  whose  best  prospect  was  some  day  to  represent  a 
comparatively  modern  but  well-endowed  English  baronetcy* 


198  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

Perhaps  Everard  might  have  justified  his  course  by  the 
plea  that  the  expedition  was  not  strictly  military,  and  thus 
permitted  some  abrogation  of  strictly  military  rule.  Every 
detail  to  insure  safety,  however,  was  rigorously  observed. 
When  the  tents  were  pitched  sentinels  were  posted,  the 
various  guards  mounted,  all  the  discipline  of  a  military 
camp  preserved.  When  on  the  march  scouts  were  thrown 
out,  and  a  baggage  and  rear  guard  maintained.  But,  he 
argued,  surely  he  could  not  be  expected  to  live  so  long  a 
time  without  a  being  with  whom  to  exchange  a  congenial 
word.  And  if  he  saw  fit  to  single  out  a  man  near  his  own 
age,  of  his  own  station  in  life,  only  constrained  to  serve  in 
the  ranks  by  reason  of  poverty  because  of  political  misfor 
tunes,  he  did  not  conceive  that  Callum  Macllvesty  was 
lifted  out  of  his  place  as  a  soldier  and  absolved  from  the 
duty  of  obedience  because  thus  admitted,  unofficially,  to  the 
society  of  his  superior  in  military  rank. 

Although  both  men  felt  the  irking  of  the  anomalous 
situation,  their  mutual  relish  of  congenial  companionship 
rendered  them  adroit  in  nullifying  the  difficulty.  When 
Everard  gave  an  order  he  addressed  the  Highlander  as 
"  Macllvesty,"  who  simply  and  implicitly  obeyed  it  as  a 
soldier  should.  But  if  Everard  spoke  to  him  as  "Callum 
Bane,"  he  received  the  request  as  from  a  friend  and  com 
plied  or  not  as  he  chose,  for  the  sobriquet  had  come  to  be 
a  mark  of  friendly  familiarity,  as  it  was  not  necessary  on 
this  expedition  as  a  means  of  identification.  While  the 
regiment  had  not  the  disaster  in  nomenclature  that  beset 
the  corps  of  the  Sutherland  Fencibles,  in  which  one  hundred 
and  four  men  answered  to  the  name  of  "  William  Mackay," 
seventeen  being  in  one  company,  still  in  the  Forty-Second 
there  was  much  patronymic  repetition,  and  in  one  company 
there  were  three  Callum  Macllvestys  severally  distinguished 
as  "  Callum  Roy  "  (the  red-haired)  and  "  Callum  Dhu  "  (the 
dark)  and  "  Callum  Bane  "  (the  fair). 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  199 

This  fair-haired  Callum  seemed  an  attractive  personality 
to  Lieutenant  Everard,  who  felt  a  compassionate  regret  that 
a  youngster  of  such  good  parts  should  have  no  better  pros 
pects,  for  these  were  the  days  of  the  purchase  of  commis 
sions,  and  this  serious  thought  was  often  in  Everard's  mind 
as  they  sat  alone  beside  the  camp-fire,  making  so  far  as  op 
portunity  favored  them  a  convivial  night  of  it.  Callum 
had  been  grateful  for  the  recognition  of  his  true  quality 
in  the  humble  guise  of  the  private  soldier  and  in  the  coarse 
tartan.  It  was  as  a  salve  to  his  wounded  spirit  and  sense 
of  exile.  It  had  been  with  a  great  effort  at  self-assertion, 
as  a  rallying  of  forces  after  a  defeat,  that  he  had  been  able 
to  regain  in  a  measure  his  normal  poise,  a  semblance  of  his 
wonted  brave  cheerfulness,  subsequent  to  his  obvious  sup- 
plantation  in  the  favor  of  Lilias.  Her  indifference  had 
pierced  him  with  a  pain  all  the  keener  because  of  his  ardent 
sincerity.  Perhaps  because  he  had  already  suffered  so  much 
from  untoward  fate  he  was  endued  with  the  strength  to 
suffer  more  without  succumbing  utterly.  He  was  fortu 
nate  in  the  stubborn  resources  of  his  indomitable  pride.  He 
would  not  pine  like  a  love-sick  girl,  he  said  to  himself. 
He  would  nerve  himself  to  bear  this  latest  and  bitterest 
fling  of  fortune  like  a  man.  He  was  the  better  enabled  to 
meet  it  with  a  bold  front  since  the  continual  exactions  of 
Everard  occupied  his  attention,  and  left  him  little  time  for 
that  silent  brooding  so  pernicious  yet  so  precious  to  the 
youth  crossed  in  love.  There  was  an  element  of  humilia 
tion  in  the  situation  which  seared  his  sensitive  pride  like 
actual  fire.  Jock  Lesly  had  found  his  account  in  the  In 
dian  trade,  and  thus  Lilias  would  have  no  inconsiderable 
inheritance,  while  Callum  had  naught  to  offer  but  his  heart, 
which  seemed  no  great  matter  after  all,  and  the  hand  of  an 
ordinary  foot-soldier.  He  had  roused  himself  with  a  loyal 
feeling  that  he  owed  it  to  his  ancestry,  his  name,  his  sense 
of  honor,  and  of  honorable  achievements  in  those  who  had 


200  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

gone  befbre,  his  own  unimpeachable  record,  not  to  think  so 
meanly  of  himself ;  and  thus  the  warm  appreciation  of  his 
personal  qualities  and  high  descent,  irrespective  of  his  incon 
gruously  humble  station  which  Everard  had  manifested,  the 
admitted  equality  of  their  association,  had  aided  to  restore 
his  mental  calm  and  self-respect,  and  seemed  at  this  crisis 
more  valuable  than  it  could  be  at  any  other  time. 

The  responsibility  and  anxiety  consequent  upon  escort 
ing  the  party  of  the  commissioners  through  the  country  of 
savages,  so  inimical  and  treacherous  as  Everard  had  discov 
ered  that  the  Cherokees  still  were,  weighed  very  sensibly 
upon  the  officer's  consciousness.  Therefore  the  jelaxation  at 
intervals  afforded  by  congenial  companionship  was  all  the 
more  acceptable.  The  tension  of  the  situation  augmented 
the  nervous  stress  of  his  intolerance  of  the  learned  and  in 
opportune  disquisitions  which  the  botanist  forced  continu 
ally  upon  him.  He  sought  to  dissemble  his  displeasure 
and  irritation,  however,  for  he  was  essentially  a  gentleman, 
according  to  his  lights,  notwithstanding  his  repudiation  of 
bigwigs  and  botany.  For  all  their  dullness  and  slow 
decorum  he  had  shown  every  respectful  observance  to  the 
elderly  civilians  whom  it  was  his  duty  to  escort,  and  they, 
being  civilians,  thought  his  choice  of  a  companion  very  ap 
propriate.  They  all  looked  upon  Lieutenant  Everard  with 
much  favor.  They  could  not  know,  of  course,  how  often 
he  would  pause  in  his  talk  with  Callum,  when  the  two 
were  alone  beside  the  camp-fire,  and  shake  his  head  with 
an  unutterable  thought  even  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  bota 
nist,  the  well-known  Herbert  Taviston,  as  it  was  raised  in 
his  guarded  tent  to  call  out  a  string  of  Latin  plant  names  of 
the  growths  of  the  Great  Smoky  region  to  another  of  the 
commissioners  already  abed  under  his  own  canopy,  while 
the  Highlander,  whose  ills  in  life  were  so  much  grimmer 
than  boredom,  laughed  in  glee  at  the  officer's  dismay  and 
disaffection.  So  often  Everard  shook  his  head  for  this 


A  SPECTEE   OF  POWER  201 

cause  that  its  decorous  powder  suffered,  and  that  is  saying 
much.  For  so  perfect  of  accoutrement  was  he,  so  point- 
device,  so  solicitous  in  every  detail  of  dress,  that  one  can 
hardly  think  of  the  fop's  dying  save  in  full  uniform,  as 
befitting  the  importance  of  the  occasion.  The  fact  that  ex 
tremes  meet  is  suggested  in  the  thought  that  the  savages, 
when  going  out  to  battle  with  another  tribe,  often  impor 
tuned  the  white  traders  for  such  attire  as  would  enable  them 
to  "  make  a  genteel  appearance  in  English  cloth  when  they 
died."  That  the  highly  civilized  Everard  would  die  in  his 
boots  was  a  foregone  conclusion,  but  one  is  sure  that  they 
were  elaborately  polished  whatever  the  emergency,  his  bur 
nished  sword  in  his  hand,  his  neckcloth  richly  laced  about 
his  throat,  his  hair  curled  according  to  its  graceful  wont. 
It  was  a  very  fine  head  of  hair,  and  for  that  reason  he  did 
not  wear  the  fashionable  wig.  Of  a  rich  brownish  auburn 
hue,  his  hair  rose  up  from  his  forehead  in  a  natural  undula 
tion  that  gave  all  the  fashionable  effect ;  it  curled  crisply 
at  the  sides  ;  it  was  thick,  long,  and  lent  itself  with  every 
address  to  be  plaited  in  a  queue  at  the  back.  He  had 
brown  eyes,  darkly  lashed,  a  large  aquiline  nose,  a  curling, 
disdainful,  discontented  mouth,  and  a  complexion  sunburned 
a  permanent  scarlet,  for  despite  his  fripperies  he  had  seen 
much  service  and  was  by  no  means  a  tin  soldier.  The  dashing 
young  officer  was  a  somewhat  dazzling  exponent  of  a  posi 
tion  and  a  status  which  Callum  -felt  to  be  his  own  by  right, 
and  the  simply  educated  and  much  denied  Highland  youth 
listened  greedily  to  the  stories  with  which  Everard  sought 
to  beguile  the  tedium:  stories  of  cosmopolitan  life,  society, 
the  gay  world,  the  gossip  of  the  times  in  high  circles,  Lon 
don,  Paris,  Vienna,  —  for  Everard  had  seen  life,  —  he  had 
seen  the  world !  Sometimes  these  choice  narratives  were 
military,  and  Callum' s  pulse  would  quicken,  for  he  was  am 
bitious  of  deeds  of  valor  and  the  opportunity  of  command. 
Sometimes  the  chronicle  of  Everard's  experiences  became 


202  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

boastful  and  coxcombical,  and  adroitly  suggested  other  con 
quests  than  those  of  the  battlefield. 

Nevertheless  to  Everard  the  tedium  was  intolerable. 
They  could  not  gamble  at  cards,  the  reigning  vice  and  plea 
sure  of  the  day,  for  the  extremity  of  the  poverty  of  Callum 
Bane  precluded  this,  and  Everard  would  have  been  both 
ashamed  and  sorry  to  win  his  meagre  pay.  Now  and  again 
they  played  a  dreary  game  without  hazard,  merely  "  for 
the  fun  of  the  thing,"  but  Everard  found  more  genuine 
amusement  in  object  lessons  with  the  cards,  in  which  he 
elucidated  the  methods  and  mysteries  of  sundry  new  games, 
the  latest  rage,  which  he  had  picked  up  when  he  was  last 
in  London  or  Paris.  This  interest  palled  too  after  a  time, 
and  in  reverting  to  the  chronicle  of  his  experiences  he  was 
even  fain  to  elaborate  questions  of  the  cuisine ;  he  de 
scribed  queer  dishes  of  which  he  had  partaken  in  out  of  the 
way  quarters  of  the  world  whither  his  military  duties  had 
chanced  to  carry  him ;  he  learnedly  compared  the  abilities 
of  the  cooks  of  different  inns  and  coffee-houses  in  divers 
cities ;  and  he  vaunted  the  discrimination  and  keen  discern 
ment  of  his  palate  as  a  judge  of  wines  till  the  "  bouquet," 
of  which  he  spoke  so  knowingly,  seemed  to  dispense  an  ac 
tual  fragrance  to  the  alert  senses  of  the  imaginative  listener. 
None  of  these  subtle  refinements  appertained  to  the  bever 
age  of  which  Everard  invited  Callum's  opinion  one  night 
as  the  two  boon  spirits  lingered  long  about  the  camp-fire, 
now  and  again  mending  it  as  it  sank,  for  the  hour  wore  on 
to  the  chill  of  midnight. 

"  You  have  to  go  on  guard  duty  anyhow  presently, 
Callum  Bane,"  the  officer  said,  "  so  you  might  as  well  stay 
here  till  the  corporal  goes  out  with  the  relief." 

They  had  been  in  high  glee,  and  the  lieutenant  was  loath 
to  lose  his  merry  company. 

The  camp  was  now  pitched  at  loco  Town,  —  by  Callum, 
alack,  so  well  remembered,  —  west  of  the  Chilhowee  Range, 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  203 

and  the  English  surveyor  had  offered  the  lieutenant  some 
particularly  fierce  tafia,  doubtless  originally  distilled  for 
the  Indian  trade  (against  the  law),  the  "fire  water"  that 
wrought  such  woe  among  the  tribes.  The  sober-minded 
civilians  had  not  cared  to  deviate  from  their  usual  refresh 
ment  of  brandy  and  water  or  wine  which  they  had  brought 
for  their  consumption  during  the  journey,  but  the  officer 
was  disposed  to  experiment.  Neither  Everard  nor  Callum 
was  accustomed  to  this  particular  drink  nor  pleased  with 
it,  and  now  and  again  reverted  to  the  officer's  Scotch  whis 
key,  wherein  they  demonstrated  the  fact  that  they  were  both 
Britons  and  compatriots.  Then  once  more  they  essayed 
the  contemned  rum,  and  again  to  take  the  taste  out  drank 
the  home-brew. 

"  My  certie !  it  *s  got  the  smell  o'  the  peat  ontil  it !  " 
cried  the  Scotchman  in  his  simple  joy  and  bibulous  patriot 
ism. 

Despite  his  exaltation  of  the  Scotch  product,  however,  the 
rum  had  no  cause  to  complain  of  him  when  some  criticism 
of  the  beverage  by  Everard  required  that  it  should  be 
sampled  anew,  and  then  they  once  more  sagely  conferred 
together. 

That  Everard  was  more  irritable  than  usual  was  amply 
manifest  in  the  expression  of  his  uplifted  eyes  and  the  cant 
of  his  eyebrows  when  suddenly  the  learned  Herbert  Tavis- 
ton  issued  forth  all  nightcapped  from  his  tent,  and,  snugly 
wrapped  in  a  gaudy  floriated  dressing-gown,  once  more 
sought  the  solace  of  the  fire. 

"  You  seem  very  comfortable  here,  my  dear  sir,"  he 
said  with  complacent  sweetness  and  self-satisfaction,  all  un 
aware  of  the  piteous  spectacle  his  nightcapped  well-informed 
head  presented  in  the  estimation  of  the  military  man,  who 
was  already  alienated  by  a  surfeit  of  botany,  and  whose  hair, 
blowsing  in  the  chill  wind  about  his  high  forehead,  was  not 
even  sheltered  by  his  hat.  "I  find  my  tent  quite  cold. 


204  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

We  should  have  done  better  to  take  up  our  quarters  in  this 
vacant  house  hard  by,  as  it  seems  to  be  abandoned." 

He  nodded  the  tassel  of  his  nightcap  toward  the  slum 
bering  town  of  loco,  the  nearest  conical-roofed  houses  show 
ing  dimly  against  the  densely  black  night.  Some  residue 
of  light  seemed  held  in  the  Tennessee  River,  for  now  and 
again  came  a  sidereal  glimmer  from  the  reflection  of  the 
stars  on  the  invisible  surface,  and  a  mysterious  vista  opened 
between  the  towering  forests  on  either  bank,  where  the  un 
seen  stream  led  like  some  great  shadowy  roadway  into  regions 
of  deeper  darkness  beyond.  loco  Town,  long  and  narrow, 
stretched  along  the  bank,  still  and  silent.  Only  the  wind 
was  abroad.  Of  the  nearest  dwellings  all  seemed  alike,  but 
one  quite  apart  from  the  others,  close  at  hand  in  fact,  was 
vacant,  according  to  the  adroitly  waving  tassel,  —  doubtless 
impelled  by  previous  knowledge  rather  than  present  assur 
ance  of  the  circumstance. 

The  officer  spoke  up  with  only  half  masked  acerbity.  He 
felt  responsible,  as  he  was  indeed,  for  the  conduct  of  the 
expedition  to  the  best  advantage,  and  all  details  as  to  trans 
portation,  lodgment,  the  commissariat,  passed  under  his  di 
rect  supervision.  No  slight  matter  was  such  a  march  in  that 
region  in  those  days.  Now  a  river  had  risen  out  of  fording 
depth,  and  ferriage  was  to  be  improvised,  from  whatever 
materials  could  be  had  in  the  dense  wilderness,  and  safely 
achieved ;  now  an  accident  occurred  to  the  baggage  train, 
a  horse  going  hopelessly  lame,  or  getting  astray ;  now  a 
shortage  supervened  in  certain  provisions  for  the  commis 
sioners  that  had  proved  more  acceptable  than  others  which 
thus  outlasted  them.  All  the  time  the  discipline  of  a  mili 
tary  camp  was  to  be  maintained,  the  soldiers  provided  for 
after  their  kind,  the  thousand  maladroit  incidents  of  a  march 
of  five  hundred  miles  to  be  severally  met  and  adjusted,  with 
out  assistance  or  advice,  and  reconciled  to  the  comfort  and 
safety  of  an  official  party  of  elderly  civilians. 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  205 

"  You  will  do  me  the  favor  to  remember,  sir,  that  since 
the  change  in  the  weather  I  have  urged  you  and  the  other 
civilian  gentlemen  to  accept  the  invitation  of  the  chiefs  of 
loco  Town  and  quarter  yourselves  in  their  '  stranger-house/ 
a  very  commodious  lodging  and  vastly  superior  to  yonder 
tumble-down  hovel.77 

Everard  pointed  with  the  stem  of  his  pipe  toward  the 
stove-like  "  winter-house,"  a  mere  shadow  crouching  low  in 
the  night  and  only  revealed  because  of  the  far-reaching  flare 
of  the  freshening  camp-fire.  The  yellow  flames  sprang 
cheerily  up  with  a  roar  and  a  jet  of  leaping  red  sparks.  The 
boughs  of  the  tall  hickory  trees  high  over  their  heads  showed 
fluctuating  glimpses  of  the  amber  and  scarlet  hues  of  the 
still  redundant  leafage ;  a  star  scintillated  through  the 
fringes  of  a  pine  ;  the  tents  of  the  little  encampment  glim 
mered  white  at  regular  intervals  in  the  dusky  aisles  of  the 
woods  ;  now  and  again  the  dull  red  glow  of  a  fire  at  some 
distance,  about  which  was  grouped  the  guard,  asserted  its 
fervors,  "  lights  out "  being  an  order  held  not  applicable  to 
it  nor  to  the  fire  in  front  of  the  commissioners'  tents  ;  and 
continually,  regularly,  the  tramp  of  an  unseen  sentry,  walk 
ing  his  beat,  smote  on  the  air  with  a  dull  mechanical  itera 
tion  like  the  ticking  of  a  clock. 

"  I  should  have  placed  a  strong  guard  about  the  build 
ing/7  Everard  went  on,  "  and  as  the  rest  of  the  escort  lies 
so  near  loco  you  would  have  been  as  secure  certainly  if  not 
safer  than  here  as  you  are.77 

For  Everard,  not  unnaturally,  considered  the  complaint 
of  the  discomforts  to  which  the  commissioners  were  subjected 
as  a  reflection  upon  his  conduct  of  the  march. 

The  tassel  on  the  learned  nightcap  wagged  in  depreca 
tion.  "  My  dear  sir,  most  true,  most  true,  but 77  — 

"  I  remember  you  insisted  that  you  preferred  the  camp 
because  of  possible  infection  from  smallpox  in  the  Indian 
dwellings,77  the  officer  mercilessly  went  on,  with  a  curl  of 


206  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

the  upper  lip,  already  so  disdainfully  disposed.  He  had 
that  flouting  scorn  of  the  fear  of  contagion  which  a  man 
naturally  acquires  whose  life  is  in  continual  jeopardy  from 
epidemics,  constrained  to  dwell  in  hordes,  and  subject  every 
hour  to  the  chances  of  the  times.  "  For  myself,"  he  pro 
tested,  "  except  that  I  am  obliged  to  keep  the  escort  in  camp 
to  avoid  brawls  between  the  soldiers  and  the  young  Chero 
kee  braves,  I  should  prefer  to  billet  the  whole  force  upon 
the  town,  in  the  good,  cosy,  dry  winter-houses,  since  this 
unseasonable  chilly  change  in  the  weather.  There  is  no 
more  danger  from  smallpox  for  you  in  sleeping  in  their 
'  stranger-house J  than  in  the  handshaking  that  went  on  in 
the  powwowing  over  the  terms  of  the  cession  at  Chote  with 
the  headmen.  Shoot  me,  sir,  but  you  ought  to  see  an  epi 
demic  in  an  array  —  something  to  be  afraid  of  !  Gad,  sir, 
the  men  died  with  cholera  in  India  like  sheep  —  and  with 
scurvy,  too,  on  board  ship,  both  going  and  coming." 

The  tassel  on  the  nightcap  had  lost  its  pliant  urbanity. 
Be  a  man  ever  so  scientific,  so  civilian,  so  intrusted  with 
peaceful  commissional  powers,  he  cannot  admit  an  inference 
of  fear,  even  of  disease,  in  taking  ordinary  precaution. 

"All,  my  good  sir,  within  the  scope  of  civilization  and 
the  best  deterrent  effects  of  a  scientifically  applied  materia 
medica.  The  army  chirurgeons  do  good  service — excellent, 
excellent.  But  here,  among  the  savages,  no  disinfectant 
processes  obtain,  and  no  intelligent  effort  to  prevent  the 
spread  of  the  dread  scourge.  Why,  sir,  in  1738  the  Chero- 
kees  lost  almost  half  their  number  by  the  ravages  of  the 
smallpox  and  their  ignorance  in  dealing  with  the  disease." 

"And  if  they  had  lost  all  their  number  I  should  not 
hesitate  to  sleep  in  one  of  their  winter-houses  twenty-four 
years  later.  Ha,  ha,  ha  !  "  The  rum  was  evidently  get 
ting  in  its  work.  "  Hey,  Benson,"  the  lieutenant  called 
to  his  servant  in  the  one  illumined  tent  hard  by,  "  make  up 
my  bed  in  that  vacant  winter-house,  and  hark  ye,  build  a 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  207 

fire  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  Injun-wise  !  Gad  !  I  '11  not 
be  diddled  out  of  the  comforts  of  life  for  fear  of  a  Cherokee 
distemper  twenty-four  years  gone  !  " 

The  nightcap  wished  itself  where  it  belonged,  on  its  pil 
low.  To  retire  with  dignity  became  the  most  definite  mo 
tive  in  the  brain  that  it  surmounted,  and  in  this  emprise 
it  conceived  that  some  aid  might  be  secured  by  a  few  words 
of  casual  conversation  with  the  officer's  companion,  who  was 
therefore  civilly  addressed. 

Now  the  worshipful  Herbert  Taviston  would  have  been 
excited  to  a  frenzy  by  a  false  classification  of  the  meanest 
herb  of  the  earth,  and  would  have  repudiated  it  as  an  un 
righteous  pretension  and  a  mischievous  effort  to  subvert  the 
accepted  grades  and  relations  of  a  careful  and  accurate  sys 
tem.  But  if  aware  that  such  elements  and  considerations 
existed  in  matters  military,  they  were  in  his  estimation  of 
no  practical  moment,  and  he  turned  toward  the  Highland 
soldier  with  as  pliant  a  grace  of  his  tasseled  crest  as  erst 
while  it  had  borne  in  bending  before  the  commander  of  the 
force.  And  in  fact  he  might  well  be  oblivious  of  distinc 
tions  of  rank.  The  young  Highlander  had  a  handsome, 
kindly,  intelligent  face  and  a  manner  of  refinement  and 
dignity,  and  bating  his  coarse  garb  and  rustic  dialect  he 
might  have  easily  seemed  a  man  of  degree.  Moreover,  he 
was  here  hobnobbing  familiarly  with  his  officer. 

"  Do  you  find  your  pipe  a  solace,  my  dear  sir?"  Mr.  Tav 
iston  blandly  demanded,  for  smoking  was  not  then  the  uni 
versal  habit  that  it  was  sometime  earlier  and  has  been  since. 

"  Aye,  sir,"  the  Highlander  replied  politely,  a  trifle  em 
barrassed  by  the  obvious  mistake  as  to  his  rank  rather  than 
his  quality.  "  But  it  isna  sae  cantie  a  crony  as  a  queigh 
o'  gude  browst,  neither,"  he  added  blithely,  with  an  effort 
to  reestablish  the  entente  cordials. 

The  young  officer,  with  sullen,  attentive  eyes,  that  held  a 
spark  of  red  fire  in  their  brown  depths,  glowered  at  them. 


208  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

"  Ah,  so  indeed  !  "  suavely  commented  the  elderly  night 
cap.  "  But  have  you  observed,  sir,  that  the  Indians 
have  another  kind  of  tobacco  than  that  which  is  commonly 
smoked,  —  which  is  of  course  the  Nicotiana  Tabacum  ? 
Now  this  other  tobacco  plant  is  a  small-leaved,  green,  bitter 
species  which  they  use  exclusively  in  their  religious  cere 
monies,  their  incantations,  their  necromancy,  known  as  "  — 

"  As  Nicotiana  diabolica"  suggested  the  officer. 

Now  had  the  nightcap  housed  but  a  modicum  of  tact 
and  permitted  a  laugh  at  this  fling,  all  might  yet  have 
gone  well.  But  trust  a  man  of  scientific  hobbies  for  serious 
denseness. 

"  Not  at  all,  sir,"  he  said  with  asperity.  "  That  name 
is  unknown  to  the  herbalist.  The  plant  is  Nicotiana  rus- 
tica  with  us.  With  the  Cherokees  it  is  Tsalagayuli,  and 
the  Muskogees  call  it  It-chau-chee-le-pue-puggee,  'the  to 
bacco  of  the  ancients/  and  the  Delawares,  Lenkschatey, 
'  original  tobacco/  —  showing  an  interest  parity  of  signifi 
cation  ;  with  the  coast  Indians  it  is  Uppowoc ;  the  Tus- 
caroras  call  it  Charho  ;  the  Pamlico  Indians,  Hoohpau ; 
and  the  Woccon  Indians,  Vucoone.  Now,"  turning  back 
to  the  Highlander  with  an  air  of  excluding  the  ill-starred 
jester  on  subjects  of  such  grave  moment,  "  there  is  a  so- 
called  tobacco,  not  even  related  to  the  genus  Nicotiana  — 
it  is  the  Lobelia  inflata  —  which  furnishes  the  Indians 
with  a  powerful  medicinal  infusion.  Have  you  noticed  in 
your  march  hither,  and  perhaps  in  your  previous  campaigns 
in  the  Cherokee  country,  the  amazing  expertness  of  the 
Cherokees  in  the  matter  of  simples  ?  " 

"  He  is  too  simple  himself/7  put  in  the  officer,  with  an 
airy  laugh. 

The  Highlander's  face  was  flushing  painfully.  He  was 
carrying  a  goodly  quantity  of  mixed  liquor  of  the  fiercest 
description,  and  it  had  not  as  yet  shaken  a  nerve ;  but  the 
consciousness  of  his  false  position  between  his  two  com- 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  209 

panions  was  aiding  its  potency,  and  his  equilibrium  was  be 
ginning  to  tremble. 

The  botanist,  touched  in  his  sensitive  pride,  calmly 
ignored  Lieutenant  Everard  at  his  own  camp-fire ;  and  the 
officer,  who  had  borne  much  from  his  idiosyncrasies  and  had 
assiduously  sought  to  promote  his  comfort  and  security  on 
the  weary  march  hither,  gazed  at  him  with  a  deepening  glow 
of  that  fiery  spark  in  his  eyes. 

"  The  Cherokees'  expert  knowledge  of  toxicology  in  plant 
forms  is  amazing,"  continued  the  botanist.  "  They  excel 
all  savage  nations  in  their  discoveries  of  vegetable  poisons 
and  their  application.  And  then  their  botanical  nomen 
clature —  how  happy  —  how  apt !  Are  you  conversant,  sir, 
with  their  generic  plant  names  ?  " 

"  The  title  of  the  parent  stem,  do  you  mean  ?  "  said  the 
unlearned  Highlander  hesitating,  fumbling  in  his  mind  as 
to  what  Cherokee  plant  names  were  considered  applicable 
as  to  a  parent  stem. 

"  He  does  n't  lay  much  nowadays  on  the  title  of  parent 
stems/'  interpolated  Everard  flippantly.  "  His  own  branch 
has  lost  its  head,  through  that  head  having  been  so  heady 
as  to  lose  his  head." 

A  keen  steely  glance,  as  significant  as  the  drawing  of  a 
burnished  blade,  flashed  from  the  Highlander's  eyes  and 
was  received  full  in  the  gaze  of  the  facetiously  fleering 
officer.  The  subject  of  the  forfeiture  of  estates,  the  loss  of 
titles,  the  attainder  of  treason,  was  not  fit  for  jesting  with 
one  who  had  suffered  so  fiercely  by  them,  and  except  in  his 
cups  no  man  would  have  been  more  definitely  and  respect 
fully  aware  of  this  than  Everard.  And  yet  the  fiery  liquor 
was  not  altogether  to  blame.  He  was  as  cruelly  hampered 
by  the  false  position  as  his  lowly  friend,  who  nevertheless 
in  every  essential  that  he  reverenced  was  his  equal  if  not 
his  superior.  To  be  ignored,  to  be  talked  down,  and  meekly 
submit  to  keep  his  mouth  closed  was  more  than  his  patience 


210  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

could  admit.  But  he  was  practically  helpless.  He  could 
not  seize  that  egregious  nightcap  by  the  tassel  and  punch 
that  learned  head.  He  could  only  assert  himself  by  inter 
jecting  scoffs  and  fleering  laughter,  and  because  of  the  fiery 
cup  these  were  ill  advised. 

"  It  is  singular  how  very  fitting  and  descriptive  is  the 
Cherokee  plant  nomenclature  !  "  chirped  the  botanist.  As 
he  sat  on  a  block  of  wood  beside  the  fire,  his  face  seemed 
ludicrously  small  in  its  strait  toggery,  in  comparison  with 
its  enlarged  and  bewigged  aspect  by  day,  and  he  looked  like 
an  elderly  infant,  if  such  an  anachronism  can  be  pictured. 
His  gaudy  gown  was  drawn  close  about  his  spare  figure,  but 
he  had  forgotten  to  be  cold,  and  his  smiling  eyes  were  fixed 
absently  on  the  face  of  the  young  Highlander,  as  fitting  the 
fingers  of  his  delicate  hands  daintily  together  he  continued 
to  speak  of  the  accurate  niceties  of  Cherokee  plant  names. 

"  Atali  kulij  '  the  mountain  climber/  "  he  translated, 
his  lingering  tones  almost  chanting,  so  great  was  his  pleasure 
in  the  definition ;  "  the  mountain  ginseng,  my  good  sir." 
Then,  fairly  intoning  the  Latin  like  a  priest,  he  added, 
"  Panax  quinquefolium,  of  the  order  Araliacece,  also  a 
native  of  China,  sir." 

"  He  is  not  a  native  of  China,  sir.  He  was  made  out 
of  a  peat  bog,"  put  in  Everard  flippantly. 

^Naturally  the  nightcap  addressed  the  civil  Highlander. 

"  Then  there  is  Ahowwe  akata,  '  deer-eye,7  —  yes,  the 
word  ahowwe  signifying  deer,  — with  us  the  Rudbeckia 
fulgida.  And  again,"  dropping  his  voice  now  in  depreca 
tion  of  the  suggestion  of  indelicacy,  as  if  a  lowered  tone 
made  the  allusion  more  seemly,  "  there  is  Unistiluisti, 
meaning  '  they  stick  on,7  "  —  in  a  whisper,  "  beggar's  lice," 
— then  at  full  voice,  as  if  the  Latin  would  mend  the  matter, 
" Myosotis  Virginiana" 

The  lieutenant  looked  ostentatiously  disgusted.  He  had 
indeed  never  heard  of  the  plant,  and  the  Latin  did  not 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  211 

impose  upon  him,  but  the  mention  of  the  insect  from  which 
it  took  its  name  was  an  insult  to  ears  polite.  "  Oh  fie, 
sir  !  "  he  said  rebukingly,  for  he  was  indeed  aweary  of 
it  all. 

The  nightcap  turned  hastily  toward  the  Highlander,  who 
was  heavily  harassed  between  the  two,  the  double  discord 
of  their  moods  jarring  upon  his  nerves  and  bringing  them 
more  under  subjection  to  his  previous  potations.  "Then, 
my  dear  sir,  there  is  the  Indian  shot,  the  Canna,  —  as 
you  are  aware  the  Celtic  word  for  '  a  cane/  —  with  us  the 
1  headache  plant/  and  "  — 

"  Come,  come,  sir,  enough  of  this/'  cried  Everard, 
scarcely  listening,  and  forced  to  rise.  "  We  have  nothing 
to  do  with  headaches.  It  grows  late,  and  your  hearer  can 
not  meet  your  phrase  nor  match  your  learning,  although  as 
to  the  question  of  heads  he  knows  more  about  them  than 
you  can  ever  teach  him.  Nothing  fixes  them  in  the  memory 
like  having  them  grinning  from  a  city  gate." 

The  Highlander  had  risen  too.  He  had  a  pictorial  im 
agination,  and  there  still  lingered  upon  its  sensitive  retina,  so 
to  speak,  images  of  the  night's  talk,  before  the  botanist  had 
come  to  the  fireside :  the  aspect  of  London,  the  castellated 
Ehine,  the  glitter  of  Paris,  and  many  a  suave  and  southern 
scene  beneath  a  blue  and  tropic  sky.  Suddenly  these  were 
all  obliterated.  That  woeful  land  upon  which  the  cruel 
hand  of  Doom  had  rested  so  heavily,  the  sequestered  estates, 
the  beggared  gentry,  the  starving  peasants,  the  scattered 
clans,  the  hunted  fugitives,  the  proscribed  national  garb, 
the  hopeless  exiles,  the  prison,  the  scaffold,  the  gibbet,  — 
all  rose  up  before  him  as  elements  in  a  stricken  gray  land 
scape,  in  ghastly  wintry  guise.  For  one  moment  he  hesi 
tated.  Then  stepping  aside  from  the  fire,  he  reached  out 
and  struck  the  flippant  mocker  full  in  the  face. 

The  officer,  taken  all  unaware,  reeled  as  if  he  would  lose 
his  balance.  Then,  for  he  was.  of  a  fine,  alert  physique,  he 


212  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

recovered  the  perpendicular,  and  it  seemed  as  if  he  would 
spring  like  a  panther  upon  the  Highlander,  who  had  thrown 
himself  into  a  posture  of  defense.  The  next  moment 
Everard's  military  identity  was  fully  reasserted,  and  the 
proud  Highlander  writhed  under  the  realization  that  the 
officer  would  not  return  the  blow.  He  would  not  demean 
himself  by  striking  so  low  a  thing,  —  a  man  of  the  ranks. 
His  voice  rang  out  crisp  and  steady  as  he  called  the  cor 
poral  of  the  guard,  placed  Callum  under  arrest,  and  named 
the  manner  and  locality  of  his  detention  and  the  details 
when  he  should  be  brought  up  "  at  orders  "  the  following 
morning.  Then  wholly  sobered,  Everard  turned  with  dig 
nified  courtesy  upon  the  botanist,  who  was  now  protesting 
and  squawking  like  some  fluttered  fowl  instead  of  a  refined 
and  elegant  gentleman  in  the  discharge  of  a  public  trust. 

"  I  must  beg  your  favor,  sir,"  the  lieutenant  said,  by 
way  of  denial  of  a  wild  plea  for  clemency  for  the  culprit. 
"I  understand  my  duty  and  I  shall  do  it.  And  may  I 
beg  that  you  will  now  retire  to  your  tent,  as  all  this  stir 
may  rouse  the  camp  to  the  prejudice  of  discipline  and  good 
order  ?  I  wish  you  a  very  good-night,  sir !  " 

And  the  nightcap  with  a  depressed  and  lankly  pendent 
tassel  and  the  floriated  gown  disappeared  under  the  flap  of 
the  tent  and  enlivened  the  spaces  around  the  fire  no  more. 


XI 

POOR  Callum  Bane  !  Sober  in  good  truth  and.  sad  as 
well !  As  soon  as  his  guard  had  quitted  his  side,  he  flung 
himself  down  on  the  earth  floor  of  the  Indian  winter-house, 
to  which  he  had  been  conducted,  with  his  cheek  pressed  to 
the  clay.  He  wished  that  the  day  had  come  when  it  might 
cover  him.  Then  he  recoiled  with  the  thought  that  this 
might  not  be  far  distant.  Striking  an  officer  was  a  most 
serious  military  offense.  Even  apart  from  its  military  as 
pect  it  was  an  insult  for  which  only  blood  could  atone. 
He  knew  that  Lieutenant  Everard  could  never  face  his 
world,  the  officers  of  his  regiment,  his  mess,  if  they  were 
aware  that  as  man  to  man  he  had  tamely  submitted  to  re 
ceive  a  blow  in  the  face.  And  since  he  could  not  challenge 
one  of  so  low  a  station  as  a  common  soldier,  he  had  let  the 
matter  revert  to  its  normal  aspect  of  insubordination,  and 
the  military  law  would  take  its  course. 

Yet  Callum  could  have  shed  the  tears  that  stood  hot  and 
smarting  in  his  eyes  for  this  sad  finalg  to  their  gay  young 
friendship.  He  had  felt  that  it  augured  a  certain  magna 
nimity  in  Everard  to  ignore  what  he  was  in  station  in  the 
knowledge  of  what  he  was  by  descent.  Callum  would 
never  have  admitted,  not  even  in  his  most  secret  thoughts, 
that  he  found  aught  lacking  in  Jock  Lesly,  whose  in 
stincts  rendered  him  a  man  of  intrinsic  worth  ;  but  this 
association  on  equal  terms  with  Everard,  a  man  of  refined 
manners  and  gentlemanly  phrasings  and  careful  nurture, 
was  to  Callum  like  a  return  to  the  companionship  of  his 
earlier  life,  and  a  relief  after  the  ruder  comradeship  of  the 


214  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

boisterous  common  soldier  and  the  dull  routine  of  me 
chanical  duty.  He  had  taken  a  certain  pleasure,  too,  in  the 
realization  that  his  society  was  the  young  officer's  only 
solace  in  the  long  and  dreary  march  with  its  peculiar  per 
sonal  isolation.  But  it  was  a  pleasure  fraught  with  much 
pain,  —  the  contemplation  of  this  man  in  a  position  which 
but  for  an  untoward  fling  of  fate  might  have  been  his  own 
also.  The  thought  often  lent  a  sharp  edge  to  the  close  and 
intimate  observation  of  Everard's  opportunities  and  their 
development,  but  Callum  was  not  of  a  jealous  temperament, 
and  did  not  visit  upon  the  individual,  even  in  secret  medi 
tation,  the  disasters  which  national  circumstarces  and  con 
ditions  had  wrought.  Despite  the  difference  in  station  and 
habits,  wealth  and  education,  the  two  had  grown  fraternally 
fond  of  each  other,  and  now  there  was  that  between  them 
which  could  be  washed  out  only  with  blood,  and  the  officer 
in  the  direct  discharge  of  his  duty  had  chosen  that  it  should 
be  with  the  blood  of  the  soldier. 

The  sentinel  still  stood  at  the  doorway,  for  there  was 
no  door,  but  gradually  his  glances  within,  prompted  by  cu 
riosity,  had  grown  infrequent.  There  was  no  guard  tent. 
The  men  were  of  the  best  class,  picked  for  the  expedition, 
and  so  far  not  even  a  trifling  misdemeanor  had  sullied  the 
record  of  their  good  conduct.  Punctual,  alert,  efficient, 
cheerful,  invaluable  each  had  seemed  in  every  emergency, 
and  thus  the  only  unoccupied  shelter  that  might  conven 
iently  hold  a  culprit  was  the  clay-constructed  winter-house, 
which  stood  aloof  and  vacant  on  the  edge  of  loco  Town. 
The  preparations  which  Everard  had  ordered,  with  the  in 
tention  of  occupying  it  himself,  had  gone  110  farther  than 
the  kindling  of  a  fire  on  the  clay  hearth  in  the  centre  of  the 
floor,  before  it  was  diverted  to  the  uses  of  a  prison.  The 
smoke,  in  thin,  shifting,  scroll-like  forms,  circled  gray  and 
blue  about  the  red  clay  walls  without  an  exit  save  such 
crevices  as  the  wind  and  rain  and  neglect  had  wrought 


A   SPECTKE   OF  POWEK  215 

As  Callum  had  dropped  down  on  the  inner  side,  the  vapors 
served  to  screen  him  somewhat  from  the  observation  of  the 
sentinel,  who,  he  now  began  to  notice,  had  become  abso 
lutely  oblivious  of  him.  This  matter  riveted  his  attention 
presently.  There  was  evidently  some  strange  stir  in  the 
encampment,  an  odd  circumstance,  and  Callum  reflected  in 
sudden  affright  that  he  had  been  bound,  needlessly  and 
cruelly  he  considered.  The  handcuffs,  always  carried  pro 
forma,  were  among  the  baggage,  and,  it  being  deemed  un 
meet  to  rouse  its  custodians  to  overhaul  it  at  that  hour,  a 
stout  rope  had  been  substituted.  A  vague  clamor  of  voices 
came  to  his  ears.  He  observed  that  the  sentinel  at  the  door 
way  had  become  rigid  with  suppressed  excitement.  Could 
it  be  that  an  attack  by  the  Indians  was  threatened  ?  Re 
membering  his  bonds,  Callum's  blood  ran  cold.  The  force, 
while  strong  enough  for  protection  against  unauthorized 
vagabonds  or  possible  bands  of  robbers,  could  not  resist  suc 
cessfully  an  organized  assault  by  the  braves  of  this  great 
tribe.  He  might  well  be  forgotten  in  such  a  crisis  —  left 
here  bound  and  helpless,  to  be  captured  and  tortured  and 
burned.  The  next  moment,  listening  with  every  pulse 
tense,  he  realized  that  the  voices  were  those  of  the  soldiers 
in  altercation  or  extenuation.  One  shrilly  clamoring  in 
Gaelic,  as  if  the  strength  of  his  lungs  and  the  pitch  of  the 
tone  could  render  his  gibberish  intelligible  to  Lieutenant 
Everard,  revealed  to  Callum's  practised  ear  the  cause  of  the 
disturbance. 

An  Indian  horse-race  had  been  held  in  a  neighboring 
town,  and  albeit  this  amusement  was  one  which  appealed 
especially  to  the  tastes  of  the  pleasure-loving  lieutenant, 
so  grievously  debarred  and  deplorably  dull  on  this  uncon 
genial  expedition,  he  would  not  attend  it  himself  and  issued 
positive  orders  that  no  man  of  the  force  should  be  present. 
Nay,  he  went  so  far  as  to  see  to  it  that  none  had  leave  of 
absence  from  the  camp  on  any  pretext  on  the  day  when  this 


216  A   SPECTEE   OF   POWER 

diversion  took  place.  He  very  definitely  appreciated  the 
perils  which  menaced  his  little  command  in  case  of  any  an 
tagonism  or  open  quarrel  with  the  tribesmen  of  the  towns. 
Had  his  mission  been  strictly  military,  to  make  a  stanch 
defense  or  a  brisk  onslaught,  it  would  have  been  far  sim 
pler,  in  his  estimation,  whatever  dangers  or  disasters  hos 
tility  might  involve.  But  the  success  of  his  mission  de 
pended  upon  the  preservation  of  a  strict  peace.  Apart  from 
the  safe-conduct  and  guardianship  of  the  commissioners  and 
their  attendants,  fully  one  third  of  the  party  being  non- 
combatants,  —  and  no  man  believes  so  implicitly  as  does 
the  British  regular  in  the  absolute  incapacity  of  the  non- 
professional  to  do  battle  in  any  behalf,  or  to  be  of  any  bel 
ligerent  value  even  in  his  own  defense,  —  the  interests  of 
the  government  were  at  stake.  Nothing  could  so  quickly 
sow  the  seeds  of  dissension,  the  acute  officer  argued  within 
himself,  as  the  winning  of  the  Indians'  money  and  valuable 
furs  and  other  choice  gear  at  the  projected  horse-race.  He 
did  not  doubt  that  charges  of  fraud  would  arise,  a  fracas 
ensue,  the  security  of  the  commissioners'  camp  be  placed  in 
jeopardy,  and  the  cession  itself  imperiled.  Hence  his  self- 
denial,  for  he  was  a  good  judge  of  horseflesh  himself,  and 
dearly  loved  a  show  of  speed,  and  the  Cherokees  of  that 
day  owned  some  extraordinary  animals. 

Everard  had  felt  himself  extremely  ill  used  by  fate,  as  he 
was  turning  away  from  the  camp-fire,  after  his  dismissal  of 
the  astonished  corporal  with  the  prisoner,  and  his  low  bow 
to  salute  the  disappearance  of  Mr.  Herbert  Taviston.  His 
face  was  smarting  with  pain  from  the  blow,  his  heart  burned 
hot  within  him,  his  pride  upbraided  his  condescension  to 
this  man  of  low  estate,  who  had  so  ungratefully  requited 
recognition  of  his  real  quality  as  a  born  gentleman.  While 
Everard  was  beginning  to  revolve  troublous  doubts  as  to  how 
the  course  of  action  upon  which  he  had  resolved  in  these 
unprecedented  circumstances  would  be  regarded  by  his  mess 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  217 

and  superior  officers,  a  new  and  unprovoked  disaster  was 
presented.  One  of  the  corporals  in  the  functions  of  offi 
cer  of  the  day  appeared,  and  with  a  mechanical  salute  and  a 
look  of  abject  despair  reported  that  several  of  the  men, 
three  English  soldiers  and  one  Highlander,  had  run  the 
guard  that  afternoon  and  had  attended  the  horse-race,  in 
which  they  had  found  their  account.  They  had  smuggled 
into  camp  after  dark  a  quantity  of  valuable  furs,  some 
strings  of  the  fresh-water  pearls  of  the  region,  and  the 
Highlander  had  jingling  in  his  sporran  some  French  money, 
several  louis  d'ors.  So  successfully  indeed  had  they  man 
aged  their  enterprise  that  its  discovery  was  made  only 
through  the  anxiety  of  the  Cherokees  to  repossess  them 
selves  of  these  pieces  of  French  gold.  By  no  means  adepts 
in  banking  principles,  they  had,  nevertheless,  with  an  unas 
sisted  natural  intelligence  evolved  the  idea  of  a  premium. 
As  soon  as  the  headmen  learned  the  fact  of  the  loss  of  this 
money,  they  secretly  offered  to  redeem  the  louis  d'ors  with 
English  currency  and  pay  a  guinea  extra  for  the  exchange. 
The  "  mad  young  man,"  Wahuhu  by  name,  who  had  been 
grievously  deprived  by  fate  of  his  money,  browbeaten  by  his 
elders  upon  discovery  of  the  circumstances,  and  sent  upon 
this  secret  errand  to  retrieve  the  disaster,  was  greatly  per 
turbed  by  the  unaccustomed  restrictions  of  the  camp.  He 
had  himself  sought  to  run  the  sentry,  and  being  taken  in 
charge  by  the  officer  of  the  guard,  naively  demanded  to  see 
and  confer  with  a  certain  Highland  soldier.  By  adroit  cross- 
questioning  the  facts  had  been  elicited  by  the  corporal  — 
little  by  little  because  of  the  Indian's  reluctance  to  disclose 
aught  and  the  linguistic  deficiencies  of  the  Highlander. 

"  Lord,  sir,  he  is  a  poor  creature !  "  said  the  corporal, 
laying  the  matter  before  his  superior  officer.  "  He  cannot 
talk  at  all." 

"An  enlisted  man  cannot  be  dumb,"  said  the  officer  with 
asperity. 


218  A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

"  No,  sir,  but  he  can't  be  understood,  sir.  He  can  talk 
no  English,  nor  even  the  gibberish  they  call  '  braid  Scotch/ 
nor  yet  Cherokee.  He  has  nothin'  but  the  Gaelic,  sir." 

"  And  yet  he  can  run  the  guard  and  bet  at  a  horse 
race  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir  ;   an'  win  his  sporran  full  o'  louis  d'ors !  " 

And  with  true  Scotch  thrift  the  accomplished  personage 
in  question  would  not  be  parted  from  them.  Thus  it  was 
that  his  voice  was  presently  lifted  in  the  midnight.  He 
spoke  on  his  own  behalf.  He  mistrusted  the  interpretation 
of  his  Scotch  comrades,  for  his  ear  discerned  the  difference 
in  their  accent  from  the  speech  of  the  English  soldiers  and 
the  lieutenant,  and  he  cherished  the  conviction  that  were 
the  Gaelic  but  addressed  directly  and  distinctly  to  the  com 
manding  officer,  he  being  a  sensible  man  could  not  steel 
his  comprehension  against  it.  Wherefore  the  Highlander 
yelped  and  shrilly  piped  into  the  night  air  until  the  very 
hem  of  his  kilt  quivered  with  his  vocalizations,  and  the 
lieutenant  stood  as  if  bewitched  before  him,  gazing  at  the 
spectacle  he  presented. 

The  whole  camp  was  astir.  Lights  gleamed  in  sundry 
tents,  all  white  and  translucent  in  the  darkness.  Military 
figures  had  ventured  out  and  stood  in  the  shadows,  some 
bearing  weapons  on  the  pretext  of  having  fancied  the  tumult 
a  summons  to  arms.  The  officer  of  the  guard  had  attended 
with  the  Indian  negotiator,  who  was  instantly  set  at  liberty 
by  the  order  of  the  lieutenant,  but  who  still  lingered  with 
wild  eyes  and  a  constant  keen  turning  of  the  head  to  and 
fro  to  see  and  to  hear ;  that  he  was  not  altogether  unsup 
ported  might  be  inferred  from  vague  vistas  that  the  camp 
lights  flung  down  the  aisles  of  the  forest,  where  shadowy 
faces  and  feathered  crests  showed,  flitting  like  a  fancy. 
And  of  all,  the  central  figure  was  Eachin  MacEachin,  his 
red  hair  rough  from  his  pillow  and  his  well-earned  dreams  of 
wealth  j  his  dress  in  disarray,  one  stocking  well-braced  and 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  219 

gartered,  the  other  hanging  over  his  shoe  and  showing  his 
shapely  sturdy  leg  and  his  great  bare  rough  red  knee ;  his 
kilt  fluttering  in  the  wind ;  his  freckled  face  eager  and  dis 
torted  with  his  vociferations  to  his  discerning  commander. 
And  in  truth,  aided  by  adroit  gesticulations,  his  words  were 
not  so  far  from  intelligible.  He  spurned  the  proposition  of 
an  exchange.  As  he  opened  his  sporran  of  badger  skin  and 
took  therefrom  a  glittering  gold  piece  and  exhibited  it  to 
the  lieutenant,  then  with  an  ecstatic  leer  put  it  between  his 
strong  white  teeth  and  bit  hard  on  it  to  prove  it  genuine, 
there  was  no  need  for  a  mortified  compatriot,  who  had  vol 
unteered  to  interpret  to  the  officer,  to  say,  — 

"  She  aye  threepit  she  ha'  gotten  ta  gowd,  sir.  She  mis 
trust  ta  English  guinea."  Then  with  a  look  of  blank  dis 
tress,  "  She  '11  aye  mainteen  she  saw  muckle  French  gowd  in 
ta  Forty-foive.  She  '11  no  be  so  well  acquent  wi'  ta  guinea." 

The  object  of  his  aid,  desirous  of  speaking  for  himself, 
now  and  again  turned  upon  his  interpreter  with  a  furious 
Gaelic  phrase  of  repudiation,  to  which  the  better  soldier, 
who  had  run  no  guard  and  consequently  had  won  no  money, 
vouchsafed  no  retort,  only  commenting  indirectly  by  shak 
ing  his  head  and  exclaiming,  "  Hegh,  sir,  she  's  but  a  puir 
creature  ! " 

"I  am  not  so  sure  of  that,"  said  the  lieutenant  dryly, 
"unless  I  can  count  what  he  has  got  in  that  sporran  !  " 

Suddenly  something  in  the  aspect  of  the  glittering  coin 
which  the  Highlander  still  held  in  his  fingers  struck  Lieu 
tenant  Everard's  attention.  His  face  changed  sharply. 
He  asked  for  the  coin,  and  calling  for  a  candle  keenly  scru 
tinized  the  piece  by  the  nickering  taper,  as  the  corporal  held 
it,  screening  with  his  hand  the  feeble  flame  from  the  wind. 
In  another  moment  the  lieutenant  demanded  the  transfer 
ence  of  the  remaining  five  louis  d'ors  to  his  custody,  sternly 
insisting,  despite  the  wild  plaintive  protests  of  Eachin 
MacEachin. 


220  A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

All  this,  the  Gaelic  "being  as  intelligible  to  Callum  as 
the  English,  came  to  him  on  the  chill  night  air,  and  he 
marveled  at  Everard's  persistence  in  taking  custody  of  the 
coins,  for  although  it  was  the  habit  of  the  Highland  sol 
diery  to  make  their  officers  their  bankers,  this  trust  was  alto 
gether  voluntary,  and  not  by  duress,  as  in  the  case  of  poor 
Eachin  MacEachin  and  his  ill-gotten  "  gowd."  As  it  was 
the  favor  of  chance,  like  fairy  gold,  its  possession  may  have 
seemed  equally  precarious ;  or  as  it  was  won  in  direct  diso 
bedience  of  orders,  he  may  have  even  entertained  doubts  of 
the  lieutenant's  intentions  in  the  matter  of  its  ultimate  re 
turn  to  him,  for  the  Highlanders  were  as  a  rule  peculiarly 
averse  to  the  control  of  any  officers  save  those  of  their  own 
regiments  and  more  than  once  mutinied  rather  than  serve 
under  strangers.  For  whatever  reason,  so  valiantly  indeed 
did  Eachin  MacEachin  resist  Lieutenant  Everard's  orders  that 
force  at  last  became  necessary,  and  his  voluble  insubordi 
nation  in  the  pain  of  parting  with  his  gold  made  Callum 
acquainted  with  the  fact  that  he  might  presently  expect 
company  in  his  imprisonment.  This  recalled  his  mind 
summarily  to  his  own  plight.  He  realized  the  importance 
of  the  officer's  efforts  to  avoid  a  clash  with  the  Indians,  and 
wondered  what  effect  this  circumstance  would  have  in  the 
discipline  of  the  military  offenders.  Suddenly  he  turned 
sick  and  his  blood  ran  cold.  The  corporal  punishment, 
then  in  vogue  in  the  British  army,  was  regarded  by  the 
better  class  of  soldiers  as  so  great  a  degradation  that  a  man 
once  brought  to  the  lash  was  practically  ruined,  socially  and 
morally.  The  indignity  came  all  at  once  into  Callum's 
mind  as  a  possible  solution  of  Everard's  difficulty  in  his 
case.  He  knew  that  he  could  not  be  shot  without  a  regu 
larly  organized  court-martial,  which,  necessarily  delayed,  in 
view  of  the  personnel  and  conditions  of  the  force,  until 
their  return  to  Charlestown,  would  also  publish  far  and 
wide  the  officer's  derogation  of  his  dignity  in  associating  on 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  221 

equal  terms  with  a  private,  who  had  struck  him  over  their 
drink  as  an  equal  might  have  done.  Everard  would  flinch 
from  this  disclosure,  for  it  would  impugn  his  fitness  for  his 
position.  And  yet  he  could  not  challenge  a  private  nor  sub 
mit  as  man  to  man  to  the  ignominy  of  a  hlow  in  the  face. 
The  summary  punishment  of  a  flogging  at  the  head  of  the 
line  would  dispose  of  the  matter  with  the  utmost  contempt 
and  amply  avenge  the  indignity.  Callum  was  terrified  lest 
Everard's  authority  in  this  independent  command  of  a  de 
tachment,  so  remote  from  superior  military  jurisdiction,  gave 
him  such  latitude,  or  could  be  so  stretched  in  view  of  his 
dilemma.  With  the  mere  thought  Callum  sprang  from  the 
floor  with  a  suddenness  that  loosened  every  taut  strand  of 
the  ropes  that  bound  him.  His  breath  was  short ;  he 
gasped  ;  the  blood  almost  burst  from  his  veins  as  his  heart 
plunged  and  the  arteries  throbbed.  He  must  be  quick  ; 
the  little  makeshift  prison  would  soon  be  recruited ;  and 
of  captives,  one  was  a  spy  on  another.  He  could  scarcely 
see,  through  the  blue  swirls  of  smoke,  the  sentry  at  the 
door,  whose  attention  was  still  riveted  on  the  excited  scene 
without.  Callum  had  caught  at  the  first  wild  scheme  of 
release,  hardly  canvassing  its  practicability.  He  did  not 
reckon  with  the  pain  or  the  danger  when  he  thrust  his 
bound  hands  into  the  flames  to  burn  off  the  cords.  The 
thought  in  his  brain,  the  ignominy  that  threatened  him, 
seared  far  tenderer  perceptions  than  appertain  to  the  flesh. 
The  fire  caught  at  the  hemp,  and  he  set  his  teeth  hard. 
The  ligaments  had  at  last  fallen  away  when  discovery  sud 
denly  menaced  him. 

"  Look  out  for  your  plaid  in  there,  Callum,"  said  the 
sentry  abruptly.  "  I  smell  something  burning." 

"  'T  isna  wool,"  rejoined  Callum  promptly.  "  My  plaid 
isna  even  scorching." 

And  the  sentinel,  thus  satisfied,  once  more  turned  his 
attention  without. 


222  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

Callum  looked  about  him  wildly.  His  first  impulse  was 
to  throw  himself  upon  the  sentinel's  back,  overturn  him, 
and  fly  down  the  dark  aisles  of  the  woods  —  to  what  ? 
Certain  recapture,  and  an  ignominy  that  overawed  his 
proud  spirit  more  than  death. 

"  Gae  cannily  —  gae  cannily,"  he  said  to  himself,  as  he 
crouched  uncertainly  behind  the  flare  of  the  fire  and  the 
veiling  tissues  of  the  smoke. 

The  house,  like  all  of  its  kind,  had  neither  window  nor 
chimney.  It  seemed  to  him  of  far  ampler  proportions  than 
such  as  were  used  for  a  single  family,  and  yet  it  did  not 
approach  in  dimensions  the  great  assembly  rotunda,  which 
could  contain  an  audience  of  several  hundred  persons.  It 
occurred  to  him  that  it  might  have  been  used  as  a  fort 
at  some  date  long  previous,  when  perhaps  loco  had  served 
as  a  barrier  town,  and  this  was  its  outlying  defense.  He 
remembered  having  noted  the  vestiges  of  an  ancient  stockade 
outside,  and  with  the  idea  that  it  might  have  once  held  an 
Indian  garrison,  his  keen  eyes  searched  the  interior.  The  old 
cane-wrought  divan,  that  once  perchance  encircled  the  clay- 
plastered  walls,  had  long  ago  vanished,  leaving  only  a  mark 
to  suggest  it.  But  above  this,  on  a  level  with  the  ground 
outside,  for  the  floor  was  fully  two  feet  lower  than  the  sur 
face  of  the  earth,  he  detected  a  series  of  vague  circles  of 
white  chalk.  These  white  circles  indicated  where  loopholes 
were  concealed  beneath  the  clay  of  the  wall,  to  be  utilized 
by  the  forted  party  in  firing  on  an  approaching  enemy.  He 
rushed  to  the  nearest  in  a  sudden  frenzy.  The  clay  gave 
way  in  his  blistered  baked  hands ;  and  suddenly,  with  an 
inrush  of  the  sweet  woodland  air  without  and  a  glimpse  of 
the  black  night  beyond,  was  revealed  the  loophole,  adroitly 
fashioned  by  savage  skill  how  many  years  agone  !  A  lim 
ited  opening  it  proved,  however,  barely  sufficient  to  ad 
mit  of  the  flight  of  an  arrow  thence,  and  just  above  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  but  it  gave  a  purchase  to  the  frantic 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  223 

clutching  of  his  strong  hands  and  for  the  use  of  a  clasp 
knife  of  an  ordinary  sort  that  had  been  stowed  in  his  spor 
ran  ;  for  although  he  had  been  searched  for  concealed 
weapons,  it  had  been  but  a  cursory  investigation,  as  his 
wrists  were  bound.  The  blade  broke  when  the  work  was 
nearly  completed,  but  his  fingers,  although  almost  nailless 
and  lacerated  to  bleeding,  finished  the  enlargement  of  the 
aperture,  and  he  dragged  himself  through  the  narrow  hori 
zontal  space  and  stood,  breathless,  exhausted,  in  the  dark 
woods  without. 

Only  for  one  moment  did  he  pause.  The  clamors  at  the 
scene  of  action  warned  him  that  a  crisis  had  supervened. 
Wild  cries  of  "  Ohon  !  Ohon  !  "  betokened  the  despair  of 
the  erstwhile  lucky  gambler,  the  fact  that  the  five  louis  d'ors 
were  temporarily  transferred  to  the  custody  of  the  officer, 
and  that  the  Highlander  and  his  fellow  culprits  who  had  so 
gallantly  run  the  guard  and  played  the  races  were  being 
hustled  along  to  the  half  demolished  prison,  which  they 
would  find  empty.  The  thought  lent  wings  to  Callum's 
feet,  for  in  another  moment  discovery  would  ensue  and  the 
pursuit  come  hot  upon  his  track. 

Yet  his  spirits  revived  as  he  felt  the  fresh  wind,  cool  and 
pure  upon  his  face ;  his  muscles,  supple  and  strong,  re 
sponded  to  the  demand  upon  their  activities.  Like  a  deer 
he  sped  straight  through  the  town  and  along  the  sloping 
bank  of  the  watercourse.  At  that  hour  he  encountered  not 
a  living  creature.  Only  the  currents  of  the  Tennessee  came 
to  meet  him.  All  was  silent  save  the  flow  of  the  water  and 
the  flutter  of  the  wind.  So  definite  were  these  sounds  in 
the  night  as  he  went  that  he  began  to  take  heart  of  grace 
and  hope  rebounded  anew.  The  pursuit,  he  reflected,  had 
probably  gone  in  the  opposite  direction,  since  the  camp  lay 
on  the  edge  of  the  town.  This  gave  him  time  to  scheme,  to 
secure  some  place  of  concealment,  for  horsemen,  once  on  his 
heels,  would  soon  run  him  down.  For  this  reason  he  left 


224  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

the  river  bank  and  took  his  way  among  the  fields.  His 
pace  grew  slower,  for  the  rugged  cultivated  ground  and  now 
and  then  great  masses  of  weeds  in  ill-tended  and  neglected 
spaces  made  the  going  difficult.  Twice  he  caught  his  foot 
in  the  vines  of  pompions  and  came  heavily  to  the  earth, 
where  he  lay  for  a  time  stealthily  listening  before  he  dared  to 
rise  again.  He  had  great  fear  of  the  Indians  —  the  fear  of 
the  straggler.  They  hated  the  soldiers  now  more  than  ever 
heretofore,  and  above  all  the  Highlanders,  so  conspicuous 
in  the  recent  Cherokee  War.  A  wreaking  of  many  grudges 
they  would  find  should  he  fall  into  their  hands  while  fleeing 
from  the  wrath  of  his  officer.  A  terrible  fato  this  !  a  sly, 
treacherous  capture,  torture,  the  stake,  a  mysterious  and  un 
avenged  disappearance  from  the  knowledge  of  all  the  world  ! 
Military  discipline  could  threaten  no  such  horrors  save  to 
a  man  of  his  proud  temperament.  Once  or  twice  he  slack 
ened  his  speed  to  a  walk,  swinging  onward  with  a  good 
long  stride,  but  he  could  not  now  continuously  run  ;  his 
strength  was  spent.  Suddenly  he  came  to  a  full  pause,  with 
the  weight  of  doom  on  his  heart.  There  in  the  space 
between  two  rows  of  corn  the  figure  of  a  man  stood  not 
three  paces  distant !  Callum  in  a  panic  marveled  how  he 
had  not  noticed  this  approach.  Above,  the  night  was  silent, 
and  high  over  these  alien  mountains  glittered  stars  that  he 
had  known  of  yore,  that  still  shone  over  the  mountains  in 
far,  far  Scotland  as  placidly  as  before  ever  Woe  came  in  to 
sit  by  her  hearth  and  her  sons  went  forth  to  exile  for 
ever.  Nothing  stirred  save  their  palpitant  scintillations. 
He  could  hear  naught  except  the  pulsations  of  his  own 
heart  beating  like  a  drum.  The  figure  of  the  man  stood 
motionless  and  gazed  at  him,  as  motionless,  fascinated,  help 
less,  he  stood  and  stared. 

"  Canawlla  !  "  (Friendship)  Callum  at  last  said  softly, 
although  in  the  dense  darkness  he  could  not  have  stated 
why  he  thought  it  was  an  Indian. 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  225 

A  moment  of  suspense  passed  leaden-weighted. 

There  was  no  response.  The  world  was  so  silent  that 
he  heard  the  almost  soundless  flight  of  a  bat  winging  past. 

The  next  instant  a  strange  doubt  entered  his  mind.  He 
put  forth  his  hand  gingerly,  and  laid  it  on  the  figure's  arm. 
There  was  no  quick  stroke  of  a  tomahawk,  as  he  had  half 
feared.  The  man's  arm,  as  he  stood  so  stiff  and  silent,  was 
all  unresponsive.  In  fact,  it  was  but  a  couple  of  fagots, 
and  Callurn  realized  that  he  was  in  Chilhowee,  Old  Town, 
and  that  this  was  the  image  of  the  Ancient  Warrior  he  had 
noted  in  the  fields. 

"  Take  that  for  the  leein',  fause  face  o'  ye  ! "  he  said, 
striking  the  gourd  in  sudden  wrath,  his  cold  fear  growing 
hot  anger,  as  he  thought  of  the  waste  of  time  that  the 
fright  had  cost  him,  and  the  imminence  of  the  danger  in 
which  he  stood. 

The  gourd  wavered  and  dropped  suddenly  to  the  earth, 
and  as  he  mechanically  stooped  and  picked  it  up,  a  strange 
idea  struck  him.  It  was  a  great  gourd ;  he  lifted  it  with 
its  bedraggled  war-bonnet  to  his  head,  and  it  slipped  easily 
over  and  down  to  his  neck.  He  began  in  a  fever  of  haste 
to  disrobe  the  effigy.  It  had  been  of  gigantic  stature,  and 
the  hunting-shirt  even  concealed  the  kilt  of  the  big  High 
lander  ;  the  leggings  went  on  over  his  stockings  and  hid  his 
bare  knees ;  the  sleeves  came  down  over  his  hands.  Half 
supported  by  the  stake  which  had  upheld  the  scarecrow, 
he  took  the  stiff  pose  that  he  remembered.  And  why, 
he  asked  himself,  should  he  not  stand  here  as  safely,  thus 
masked,  as  lie  all  day  in  some  Indian  hut,  if  he  could 
gain  admission  ?  Doubtless  every  house  on  the  river  bank 
would  be  searched  by  Everard's  orders,  and  most  probably 
he  would  be  delivered  up  by  treachery  to  this  demand, 
if  not  murdered  to  settle  old  scores.  At  nightfall  he  would 
array  the  figure  anew  and  slip  off,  traveling  by  dark  and 
hiding  by  day,  and  returning  thus  to  Charlestown,  surrender 


226  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

to  his  own  captain.  He  fancied  the  officers  of  the  Highland 
regiment  could  understand  the  situation,  and  would  relish 
the  allusion  to  scaffolds  and  grinning  skulls  scarcely  more 
than  he.  If  he  had  been  left  in  his  station  as  a  private 
soldier,  he  argued,  all  would  have  been  well.  But  he  had 
been  admitted  to  familiarity  and  friendship  with  the  officer 
as  a  gentleman,  and  when  over  their  liquor  he  had  repelled 
an  insult  with  a  blow,  as  an  equal  might,  he  was  suddenly 
relegated  to  the  status  and  penalties  of  a  private  soldier. 
If  the  members  of  the  court-martial  were  minded  to  ac 
count  his  escape  under  these  circumstances  desertion,  they 
could  make  the  most  of  it :  he  would  rather  choose  to  be 
shot  on  this  charge  than  flogged  for  the  blow. 

Punctures  in  the  egregious  painted  physiognomy  of  the 
gourd  served  for  sight  and  breath.  The  nostrils,  the  eyes, 
the  mouth,  the  ears,  had  all  been  curiously  and  faithfully 
delineated  by  the  Indian  artist,  according  to  his  lights. 
Callum  tasted  the  dawn  even  before  he  saw  that  the  night 
was  turning  vaguely  blue.  When  in  this  dim  medium 
figures  of  Indians  began  to  appear,  he  experienced  a  sudden 
elation  to  perceive  that  none  cast  a  second  glance  at  the 
effigy  of  the  Ancient  Warrior  in  the  cornfield. 


XII 

A  FINE  outlook  at  life  the  Ancient  Warrior  enjoyed. 
The  sun  came  splendidly  up  from  over  the  blue  and  misty 
domes  of  the  Great  Smoky  Mountains,  and  the  beautiful 
Chilhowee  Range  suddenly  sprang  from  the  nullity  of  dark 
ness  into  all  the  chromatic  richness  of  autumnal  color.  A 
wind  went  chanting  blithely  through  its  dense  woods,  as  if  it 
were  fitting  there  to  be  happy  where  all  was  so  gay.  The 
river,  a  trifle  of  fog  blurring  its  silver  sheen  here  and  there, 
reflected  the  gorgeous  tints  of  the  red  and  gold  forests  on  its 
banks  and  caught  the  light  with  an  added  glister.  The 
world  was  so  fresh,  so  misty  sweet,  so  newly  created ! 
The  rocks  echoed  the  barbaric  notes  of  the  blasts  blown  on 
the  conch  shells,  as  with  the  joyful  cries  of  the  ritual  of 
their  ancient  religion  the  Cherokee  braves  went  down  into 
the  water  in  their  symbolic  ablutions. 

Smoke  had  long  been  curling  up  from  the  hearths  of  the 
houses,  and  presently  the  brisk  "  second  man  "  of  the  town 
was  marshaling  out  his  cohorts  of  women  and  girls  to  work 
in  the  fields.  Callum  was  surprised  to  see  the  placid  and 
smiling  faces  that  they  wore,  for  field  work  in  these  rich 
soils  is  held  to  be  far  less  drudgery  than  housework,  and 
even  now  a  feminine  farm  laborer  is  hardly  to  be  found  to 
exchange  willingly.  The  Indians  always  protested  that 
their  division  of  labor,  which  allotted  field  work  to  the 
woman,  favored  the  weaker  vessel,  and  by  no  means  im 
plied  that  indifference  and  scorn  of  her  attributed  to  them 
by  the  white  people. 

The    "  second    man "  in   a   civilized  community  would 


228  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

have  been  accounted  a  wag  or  a  buffoon.  So  very  funny 
he  made  himself  as  he  sat  on  the  ground  near  the  effigy 
of  the  Ancient  Warrior  that  Callum  was  more  than  once 
diverted  from  his  own  troublous  thoughts  and  moved  to 
wish  for  a  few  additional  phrases  of  Cherokee,  that  he 
might  more  fully  understand  the  quip  and  song  and  tale 
with  which  this  genius  of  the  field  beguiled  the  labor. 
The  elder  women  listened  with  slow  and  languid  pleasure  ; 
the  children  sometimes  interrupted  with  a  breathless  in 
quiry.  He  did  not  lack  his  critic  to  remark,  in  the  course 
of  a  twice-told  tale,  that  last  year  the  fox  had  not  thus 
replied  to  the  admonition  of  the  Ancient  Warrior,  where 
upon,  with  the  privilege  of  response,  the  raconteur  doubled 
like  the  animal  in  question  and  averred  that  it  was  not  that 
same  fox !  One  of  the  women,  a  girl  of  eighteen,  perhaps, 
showed  a  brilliant,  imaginative  face  as,  at  the  crisis  of  each 
story,  she  turned  toward  the  Ancient  Warrior  and  gazed 
spellbound  upon  him  with  dark,  lustrous,  liquid  eyes,  until 
the  "  second  man  "  had  seen  him  safely  through  an  adven 
ture  of  a  series  for  which,  had  he  lived  from  the  days 
of  Noah,  the  centuries  scarcely  held  space.  Then  with  a 
long-drawn  sigh  she  would  fall  to  work  again,  reaching  up 
with  lissome  ease  for  the  ears  of  corn  which  she  gathered. 
Only  the  children  picked  the  peas  and  beans  and  other 
small  crops  that  the  corn  had  sheltered.  For  the  working 
force  comprised  all  the  laborers  of  Chilhowee,  these  being 
the  public  fields  destined  for  the  common  granaries  filled 
for  emergencies,  and  not  the  individual  gardens  adjoining 
each  domicile.  She  was  notably  expert  despite  the  patent 
fact  that  her  thoughts  were  oft  so  far  away  ;  although  ob 
viously  strong,  she  was  tall  and  delicately  slender,  which 
made  picturesque  her  garb  of  ordinary  doeskin,  so  fashioned 
as  to  leave  her  arms  bare ;  her  buskins  were  dyed  scarlet ; 
and  a  cascade  of  red  beads,  the  valueless  trinkets  of  civilized 
manufacture,  bought  at  a  round  price  from  an  English 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  "229 

trader,  fell  from  her  neck.  But  she  was  not  in  gala  attire, 
by  reason  of  her  occupation.  Her  fingers  were  long  and 
deft  and  exquisitely  shapely ;  her  feet  slender  and  small. 
She  was  endowed  with  a  sort  of  stately  bloom  and  a  con 
summate  grace,  that  justified  the  sobriquet  by  which  she 
was  distinguished,  the  "  Cherokee  Rose."  She  obviously 
cared  less  for  what  was  done  and  said  here  yesterday  than 
for  the  discourse  of  the  fox  and  the  Ancient  Warrior  some 
two  or  three  hundred  years  before,  according  to  the  elas 
tic  chronology  of  the  "  second  man."  For  when  other  In 
dians,  evidently  of  a  high  grade  in  the  tribe,  came  up  and 
began  to  discuss  together  the  commissioners'  expedition, 
she  worked  on  with  far  greater  industry,  and  only  occasion 
ally  paused  to  lift  her  head  from  where  she  stood,  half 
shrouded  in  the  tall  maize,  to  gaze  meditatively  upon  the 
Ancient  Warrior,  —  the  hero  of  so  many  fancies,  for  she 
was  of  the  type  of  woman  who  loves  the  renown  of  ex 
ploits,  —  with  a  patent  admiration  embarrassing  to  the 
fair-haired  Callum,  even  although  masked  by  the  gourd. 
At  times  he  experienced  a  more  formidable  embarrassment. 
He  was  in  terror  of  a  strong  inclination  to  cough.  As  the 
day  had  worn  on  the  smoke  and  smell  of  distant  burning 
forests  suffused  all  the  currents  of  the  air,  for  the  weather 
had  lately  been  singularly  dry.  Sometimes  he  was  almost 
suffocated  by  the  acrid  vapor,  collecting  in  the  restricted 
compass  of  the  gourd  mask,  and  again  it  was  dissipated  by 
the  freshening  of  the  wind. 

As  the  headmen  lingered  and  talked,  the  laborers  were 
rapidly  moving  on  under  the  directions  of  the  "  second 
man,"  for  the  Cherokees  never  permitted  women  or  boys 
to  hear  aught  of  political  machinations  or  import.  Callum 
began  to  understand  that  a  runner  had  brought  to  Chilhowee 
the  details  of  the  unlucky  winning  of  the  French  gold  by 
the  Highlander,  and  the  ineffectual  attempt  by  the  Cher 
okee  headmen  to  buy  it  back  out  of  notice  with  English 


230  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

guineas.  So  important  did  the  Chilhowee  warriors  consider 
this  circumstance  that  they  evidently  had  half  a  mind  to 
assemble  in  council  in  their  town-house  to  debate  the  mat 
ter,  but  they  were  deterred  by  the  remonstrances  of  the 
runner,  who  seemed  to  give  also  warning  of  an  approach. 
Thus  Callum  was  apprised  that  Everard  was  in  the  saddle 
and  on  the  road  hither.  It  would  never  do,  the  messen 
ger  argued,  for  the  English  officer  to  find  the  Chilhowee 
headmen  in  solemn  consultation,  —  in  effect  an  official  re 
cognition  of  the  importance  which  they  attached  to  the 
incident.  While  admitting  the  justice  of  this  reasoning, 
they  were  nevertheless  fain  to  secure  at  least  a  hasty  word 
together  as  to  how  they  should  meet  the  officer.  There 
fore  it  was  that  the  "  second  man  "  urged  forward  the  labor 
ers,  and  the  councilors  gathered  about  in  the  field  as  if  they 
had  been  participating,  as  they  often  did,  in  relating  the 
traditions  and  legends  of  the  tribe,  that  were  thus  handed 
down  from  one  generation  to  another. 

They  grouped  themselves  near  the  Ancient  Warrior, 
whose  pedestal  stood  in  a  heap  of  fodder  that  usually  con 
cealed  certain  ungainly  posturings  to  which  his  straw-filled 
moccasins  were  prone,  but  that  now  served  to  hide  the 
strong,  stanchly  planted  feet  of  the  hardy  infantry-man. 
Had  Callum's  knowledge  of  the  Cherokee  tongue  been 
more  complete  and  accurate,  —  in  fact  it  consisted  but  of 
sundry  fragments  caught  up  at  haphazard  in  his  campaigns 
in  this  region  the  two  previous  years,  and  from  the  Indian 
guides  of  the  present  expedition,  and  his  short  stay  at  Jock 
Lesly's  trading-house,  —  he  might  have  comprehended  all 
the  subtleties  of  which  this  secret  discussion  was  rife.  Even 
as  it  was,  however,  he  understood  that  the  Indians  feared 
much  from  the  discovery  of  the  French  money  here. 

"  The  French  coins  must  be  taken  from  the  officer  —  if 
they  were  his  eyes,  if  they  were  his  heart ;  they  must  be 
taken  from  him,"  a  fierce,  straight,  stiff  warrior,  Yachtino, 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  231 

the  chief  of  Chilhowee,  was  continually  saying  as  he  stood 
pacifically  in  the  midst  of  the  corn,  his  feathered  crest,  his 
quiver  and  bow,  his  garments  decorated  with  fringes  seem 
ing  not  unlike  the  growth  itself,  as  if  he  had  been  thence 
incarnated. 

Another  Indian,  with  a  swift,  furtive  step  aside,  ever  and 
anon  bent  to  gaze  down  the  trading-path,  interjecting  from 
time  to  time  the  phrase,  "  Usinuli!  Usinuli!"  (Quick! 
Quick  !);  which  agitated  the  course  of  the  deliberations,  usu 
ally  so  slow  and  decorous,  like  the  sudden  striking  of  a 
flaw  of  wind  on  the  surface  of  placid  water. 

They  all  stood  in  silence  and  looked  stolidly  at  the 
ground. 

"  But  how  ?  "  said  Tlamehu,  the  Bat,  at  last.  And  then 
another,  "  How  can  the  coins  be  taken  from  him  ?  " 

Callum,  noting  the  dismay  in  their  countenances,  fumbled 
mentally  for  the  significance  of  the  French  money.  That 
this  currency  should  be  common  among  them  seemed  natu 
ral  enough,  as  their  intercourse  with  the  French  had  been 
great,  even  before  the  Cherokee  War  against  the  British 
government.  During  its  progress,  indeed,  it  was  believed 
that  in  several  engagements  the  Cherokee  forces  were  com 
manded  by  French  officers. 

The  next  words  let  in  the  light. 

"  And  so  the  coins  that  had  the  king's  head,  pictured  in 
the  fine  gold,  spoke  with  a  deceitful  forked  tongue,  and 
tells  the  English  that  it  was  made  in  sixty-two  ?  " 

"  The  date  is  stamped  on  the  metal  — all,  all  1 "  impa 
tiently  responded  the  informant. 

The  words  were  echoed  with  an  intonation  of  perplexed 
despair.  Then  a  despondent  silence  ensued  until  Yachtino, 
the  warrior  who  had  first  spoken,  reiterated :  "  The  coins 
must  be  taken  from  the  officer  —  if  they  were  the  breath 
of  his  life  !  " 

"  But  how  ?  "  the  question  came  again. 


232  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

Callum  wondered  no  longer  at  their  agitation.  The 
louis  d'ors  were  of  the  coinage  of  1762,  and  therefore  re 
vealed  the  fact  of  renewed  machinations  with  the  French, 
in  direct  contravention  of  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  peace 
of  1761  between  the  Cherokees  and  the  British  govern 
ment,  which  expressly  forhade  all  trade  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians  with  other  nations,  especially  the  French,  who, 
being  still  at  war  with  Great  Britain,  were  to  be  denied 
admission  to  any  of  the  Cherokee  towns  and  intercourse 
with  the  tribe,  the  Cherokees  pledging  themselves  to  sur 
render  or  kill  such  intruders.  The  Indians,  indeed,  had 
much  to  fear  from  the  discovery  of  this  breach  of  the  treaty. 
They  gloomily  foreboded  therefrom  the  collapse  of  the 
favorable  phases  of  the  cession.  This  secret  hope  on  their 
part  was  to  effect  from  the  purchase  money  the  speedy  sup 
ply  of  the  tribe  with  powder,  and  thus  perpetuate  their 
national  existence.  The  ammunition  must  needs  be  secured 
before  any  intimation  of  renewed  hostilities,  and  thus  the 
British  government  actually  would  furnish  the  money  for 
another  attack  upon  its  own  frontiers.  The  French  would 
doubtless  afford  the  Cherokees  substantial  aid,  but  despite 
the  fairest  promises,  they  were  unable  to  fully  supply  the 
savages  with  ammunition  in  the  last  campaign  of  the  furious 
Cherokee  war  against  the  British,  failing  the  Indians  at  their 
utmost  need.  Thus  at  the  critical  juncture  all  their  previous 
fierce  and  bloody  successes  were  brought  to  naught.  For  as 
a  nation  the  Cherokees  were  now  practically  disarmed  and 
at  the  mercy  of  any  demand  made  from  a  basis  of  powder 
and  lead.  It  was  a  new  point  of  view  from  which  to  con 
template  the  proposed  cession  of  land,  and  Callum  felt  as 
if  the  gourd  on  his  head  had  spun  quite  round,  since  from 
the  English  standpoint  the  cession  was  designed  to  bring 
the  Cherokee  tribe  more  definitely  under  the  domination 
of  the  British  government  by  strengthening  its  occupation 
among  them,  and  thereby  monopolizing  their  trade. 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  233 

And  here,  in  the  British  officer's  keeping,  was  the  unfor 
tunate  French  money  of  the  coinage  of  1762,  that  told  so 
straight  a  tale  amidst  all  these  subtle  and  devious  windings 
of  savage  statecraft.  Callum  recognized  an  imprudence  on 
Everard's  part,  against  which,  however,  only  superhuman 
wisdom  could  have  guarded,  in  having  overlooked,  in  the 
agitation  of  the  moment,  the  presence  of  Wahuhu,  who  had 
lost  the  coins  at  the  races,  —  the  sad  Screech-owl,  who  yet 
perceived  with  great  keenness,  and  argued  with  an  impec 
cable  ratiocination,  and  witnessed  the  transference  of  the 
money  to  official  keeping  after  the  lieutenant  had  scruti 
nized  the  date  of  the  coinage.  The  mere  transference  of  the 
louis  d'ors  Callum  regarded  lightly.  Their  equivalent  in 
"  ta  guinea "  would  undoubtedly  be  returned,  when  the 
force  should  reach  Charlestown,  to  the  man  who  had  at  so 
many  risks  won  the  money,  and  who  would  easily  be  re 
conciled  to  the  English  currency  in  the  bliss  of  the  exercise 
of  its  purchasing  power.  Everard  intended  to  reserve  the 
coins  themselves  to  be  shown  to  the  royal  governor,  with 
the  significance  of  date  and  freshness  of  mintage,  and  these 
facts  would  be  made  a  part  of  the  lieutenant's  report  to  his 
superior  officer,  offering  in  support  of  his  account  of  the  mat 
ter  ocular  demonstration  of  the  louis  d'ors.  Anything  that 
touched  upon  French  machinations  among  the  Cherokees, 
from  whose  atrocities  the  English  had  suffered  so  severely 
in  the  Cherokee  War,  and  who  had  been  subdued  at  so  great 
a  cost  of  blood  and  time  and  treasure,  was  of  paramount  im 
portance  in  this  year  of  grace  17627  and  not  to  be  lightly 
argued  aside. 

As  Callum  watched  the  fiercely  reflective  faces  of  the 
group,  he  realized  that  they  contemplated  more  in  the  en 
terprise  to  serve  their  object  than  the  mere  recovery  of  the 
coins.  An  accident  might  adroitly  account  for  the  event. 
Some  opportune  misfortune  often  befell  men  charged  with 
disaster  to  others. 


234  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

"  But  how  ?  "  the  question  came  again,  as  if  it  voiced  a 
common  train  of  thought.  In  fact  they  all  seemed  to  think 
in  unison,  until  one  of  the  group,  suddenly  looking  up, 
said,  — 

"  But  the  tongues  of  the  ugly  commissioners  are  strong. 
They  eat  much  food,  they  drink  much  wine,  and  the  Brit 
ish  government  pays  them  money  for  their  wisdom.  The 
many  black  marks  that  they  put  on  paper  will  report  the 
French  money,  the  coinage  of  this  year,  to  the  governor. 
And  yet  the  wings  of  the  eagles  overshadow  the  commis 
sioners,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  cession  they  must  not  be 
touched." 

"  Usinuli !  Usinuli  I  "  urged  the  voice  of  Time,  as 
once  more  the  self-constituted  lookout  scanned  the  reaches 
of  the  path. 

"The  commissioners  have  never  shaken  hands  firmly 
with  the  speech  of  the  lieutenant,"  replied  an  authoritative 
voice,  "  and  the  lieutenant  tells  nothing  to  the  commis 
sioners." 

Canting  his  eye  askew,  to  look  through  the  orifices  of 
the  ear  of  the  image  painted  on  the  gourd,  Callum  saw  — 
to  his  surprise  and  indignation,  for  his  heart  was  still  in  the 
undertaking  —  the  Cherokee  guide  of  the  commissioners' 
expedition,  whose  utilities  as  a  spy  for  his  own  people 
must  have  been  very  marked  and  duplicated  his  services. 
He  went  on  with  great  animation  to  discuss  the  mutual 
relations  of  the  personnel  of  the  expedition. 

"The  commissioners  have  never  tied  fast  the  old  be 
loved  friend-knot  with  the  lieutenant,  and  the  lieutenant 
despises  the  commissioners.  They  are  not  soldiers,  and 
they  look  very  small  in  his  eyes.  And  they  talk  till  his 
ears  are  tired.  When  he  is  scornful  he  speaks  of  them  as 
'  lady-like  old  men/  and  when  he  is  angry  he  calls  them 
<  gentlemanly  old  ladies '  I  He  trusts  them  not  at  all  — 
with  nothing  ! " 


A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER  235 

"  Usinuli  !    Usinuli  !  "     The  sound  of  doom  ! 

"  But  though  the  lieutenant  has  taken  the  coins  into  his 
own  keeping  the  soldiers  have  seen  them/7  said  the  Indian, 
who  seemed  to  evolve  all  the  objections  for  the  others  to 
combat,  that  the  scheme  might  thus  be  battered,  as  it  were, 
into  solid  shape. 

"  Only  the  bird  that  flies  high  sees  far,"  retorted  Yach- 
tino  quickly.  "  The  flock  of  pigeon  soldiers  see  nothing 
—  they  would  never  notice  the  date  of  the  coins  —  the 
man  in  command  keeps  his  eyes  open  and  his  thoughts 
awake.  Besides,  what  are  rumors  among  mere  soldiers,  — 
the  chatter  of  grasshoppers  !  The  French  gold  that  they 
have  seen  —  what  does  French  gold  signify  ?  It  may 
have  been  here  for  years  for  all  they  know,  —  those  years 
when  the  true  emblem  of  the  French  was  the  white  dressed 
doeskin,  and  the  British  the  long  scalping  knife.  Now 
those  conflicts  of  the  past  are  wiped  out  by  the  treaty,  and 
its  strong  lying  mouth  has  said  that  our  tears  are  dried 
and  our  wounds  closed.  But  the  coinage  of  1762  —  that 
is  a  far  different  matter !  It  proves  a  direct  breach  of  the 
treaty,  and  that  once  more  we  have  taken  the  great  French 
Father  fast  by  the  arm  and  close  to  the  shoulder.  And 
the  path  is  straight  no  more  !  If  the  French  coins  of 
1762  were  hidden  in  the  heart  of  the  officer  they  must  be 
cut  out !  " 

"  Usinuli !  Usinuli !  "  The  sound  was  like  the  beat 
ing  of  a  muffled  drum  in  the  ears  of  Callum  Macllvesty,  for 
he  realized  that  the  life  of  the  officer  was  forfeited  to  the 
knowledge,  which  he  alone  had  acquired,  of  the  date  of 
the  coins.  Should  he  be  permitted  to  reach  Charlestown, 
whether  with  or  without  the  fatal  pieces,  his  disclosure  of 
the  facts  would  mean  added  punishment  and  renewed  re 
strictions  for  the  Cherokees,  already  so  heavily  chastised, 
the  cautious  hampering  of  the  Indian  trade,  and  the  rup 
ture  of  the  terms  of  the  land  cession,  through  the  purchase 


236  A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

money  of  which  they  hoped  for  ultimate  freedom.  It  was 
too  plain  :  the  officer  with  this  knowledge  in  his  posses 
sion  would  be  prevented  from  ever  again  reaching  Charles- 
town. 

But  how  —  that  suspicion  might  impute  naught  to  the 
agency  of  the  Indians  ?  they  asked  again  of  one  another. 
How  could  he  be  found  accessible  and  alone  ?  How  could 
he  be  secured  without  an  attack  upon  the  whole  party,  which 
was  not  to  be  contemplated,  since  this  would  of  necessity 
involve  the  destruction  of  the  proposed  scheme  of  the  ces 
sion  of  land  and  its  financial  value  to  the  Cherokee  nation 
—  possibly  resulting  in  the  extermination  cf  the  whole 
people.  Therefore  still,  "  But  how  ?  " 

"  Already  they  have  lost  a  man,"  —  once  more  the  cur 
rent  of  the  common  thought  flowed  in  words,  —  "  this  is 
a  wild  country.  Many  paths  lead  far  —  far  —  with  no 
return.  All  our  little  brothers  —  the  panther,  the  wolf, 
the  wildcat  —  are  many,  many  —  and  they  none  of  them 
are  the  little  brothers  of  the  white  man.  Should  he  offend 
the  little  brothers  he  would  hardly  know  how  to  hide  from 
them  !  Then  there  are  many  wandering  Indians  from  the 
French  settlements,  and  knowing  that  the  great  French 
Father  is  still  at  war  with  the  English  king,  they  would 
rejoice  to  slay  a  man  in  the  British  uniform.  The  British 
have  already  lost  a  man  on  this  expedition  —  they  may 
well  lose  another." 

Yet  how  to  compass  this  that  the  force  of  the  blow  might 
have  no  recoil !  And  once  more  an  interval  of  deep  and 
silent  meditation  fell  upon  the  group. 

The  Cherokee  spy  and  guide,  whose  sensibilities  had 
been  evidently  ruffled  by  the  manner  of  the  man  who  em 
ployed  and  paid  him,  suddenly  threw  himself  into  an  at 
titude  mimicking  Everard's  stiff  military  carriage. 

"  Agiyahusa  asgaya  !  Agiyahusa  asgaya  !  "  (I  have 
lost  a  man !)  he  cried  in  Cherokee,  but  marred  with  a  queer 


A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER  237 

English  accent.  A  slow  smile  pervaded  the  grim  circle. 
"  Agiyahusa  asgaya!  the  Capteny  bleats  this  through 
every  town.  His  redcoats  search  every  house  and  field.'7 

The  Ancient  Warrior  trembled. 

"  '  Capteny,  asgaya  gigagei  ? '  "  (Captain,  a  red  man?  — 
meaning  a  British  redcoat.)  The  spy  rehearsed  this  with 
an  affectation  of  the  bated  breath  of  extreme  solicitude  and 
a  crouching  mockery  of  his  own  manner  of  respect.  Then 
with  a  perfect  reproduction  of  Everard's  petulant  arrogance, 
despite  the  broken  English,  "  No,  no,  my  good  man !  I 
have  lost  no  red  soldier,  but  my  plaid  soldier,  my  tartan 
man,  my  Macllvesty !  Five  guineas  reward  to  the  man 
who  brings  him  to  the  guard-house  before  nightfall !  " 

The  officer  evidently  would  pay  roundly  for  the  privilege 
of  the  lash.  His  vengeance  was  indeed  afire,  and  Callum's 
cheek  burned  with  a  flame  to  match.  They  should  never 
take  him  alive  he  swore  beneath  his  breath. 

"  Usinuli !  Usinuli !  "  The  words  swung  back  and 
forth  like  a  pendulum  chronicling  the  passing  of  the  mo 
ments  ;  and  suddenly  Callum  recognized,  blended  with  the 
iterative  chant,  the  regular  throb  of  the  hoof-beat  of  horses 
approaching  along  the  trading-path  at  a  fair  pace. 

In  another  moment  there  issued  from  the  forest  a  dozen 
of  the  English  soldiers  all  mounted,  and  with  Lieutenant 
Everard  riding  at  their  head.  Beside  him  was  Mr.  Herbert 
Taviston,  bland,  smiling,  perceiving  in  the  stir  and  the 
difficulty  that  beset  the  officer  only  a  fine  opportunity  to 
browse  about  a  bit  in  the  woods  safe  from  Indians  and 
panthers  —  the  unique  advantage  of  botanizing  with  a  mili 
tary  escort.  The  lieutenant's  keen  eyes,  falling  upon  the 
group  around  the  Ancient  Warrior,  discerned  at  once  in 
them  men  of  station  and  authority,  judging  merely  from 
the  expression  of  their  countenances,  for  the  occasion  being 
unofficial,  they  wore  no  insignia  of  rank.  He  at  once  halted 
his  party,  and  called  out  in  his  crisp,  peremptory  tones  a 


238  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

request  to  be  allowed  to  search  the  town.  His  guide  inter 
preted,  and  as  the  chief,  Yachtino,  gravely  and  ceremoniously 
assented,  Everard  thanked  him  curtly  and  turned  to  admon 
ish  the  corporal. 

"  See  to  it  that  the  varlets  give  no  offense,  Baker,"  he 
said.  "If  the  man  is  taken  bring  him  before  me  at 
once." 

"  Oh,  the  poor  young  man,  to  be  sure  ! "  exclaimed  the 
botanist,  his  eyes  gloating  the  while  upon  Chilhowee  Moun 
tain  ;  every  leaf  of  the  myriads  it  flaunted,  red  and  amber 
and  purple  and  brown,  he  could  call  out  of  its  name  with 
Latin  equivalents  as  flamboyant  as  the  foliage.  "Not  found 
yet ! " 

He  had  utterly  forgotten  the  provocation  that  occasioned 
the  arrest  and  the  object  of  the  search,  that  it  held  aught 
more  serious  than  the  acquisition  which  he  had  made  of  a 
certain  parasitic  plant,  the  Indian  pipe  —  or  let  us  imitate 
Mr.  Taviston  and  say  Monotropa  uniflora  —  delicate,  wax- 
like  stems  of  which  he  now  held  tenderly  in  his  spare 
white  fingers,  not  altogether  devoid  of  similarity  to  that 
unique  growth. 

"  I  wish  to  God  I  could  lay  my  hands  on  him !  I  can 
give  my  mind  to  nothing  else  till  I  take  him,"  declared  the 
officer  fervently,  all  unaware  that  as  he  looked  casually  at 
the  effigy  he  was  gazing  straight  into  the  eyes  of  the  man 
whom  he  sought,  and  who  returned  a  look  of  fire. 

It  was  a  somewhat  fluctuating  scrutiny  that  Everard 
gave  the  scarecrow,  as  he  sat  upon  his  fine  bay  horse,  for 
the  animal,  in  spirited  impatience  of  the  detention,  shifted 
his  position  continually,  pawing  the  ground  and  tossing  his 
head,  despite  the  rein  and  spur  and  curb.  Thus  splendidly 
mounted,  Everard  presented  a  gallant  aspect,  his  showy 
scarlet  coat,  white  breeches,  cocked  hat,  and  polished  boots 
as  perfect  and  precise  in  this  wilderness  as  if  worn  on  pa 
rade.  His  fine  dark  eyes  and  expressive  features  only 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  239 

needed  in  general  a  cast  of  gravity  and  dignity  to  render 
them  imposing,  and  this  his  anger  and  sense  of  responsibility 
had  compassed. 

The  Indians  of  the  group  gazed  fixedly  at  him.  They 
had  their  own  reasons,  intimately  associated  with  the  louis 
d'ors  in  his  pocket,  to  regard  him  with  a  deep  morbid  curi 
osity  —  very  shocking  to  a  civilized  mind  —  as  a  living 
man  who  must  soon  in  their  interest  be  dead.  And  once 
more  the  question  stirred  every  brain,  "  But  how  ?  "  The 
Highlander  saw  his  enemy  resplendent  in  all  the  regalia 
and  rank  equally  appropriate  to  his  own  condition  by  right  of 
descent,  and  remembered  and  repeated  in  his  sore  conscious 
ness  every  word  of  the  foolish,  half  drunken,  brutal  fleer 
of  the  night  before.  And  the  Indian  girl,  the  Cherokee 
Hose,  still  at  her  work  hard  by,  unobserved  in  the  midst 
of  the  standing  maize,  hearing  yet  unheeding  all  that  had 
been  said,  gazed  upon  the  officer  with  a  dazzled  reverence, 
as  one  might  behold  the  glittering  martial  vision  of  the 
archangel  Michael. 

Nothing  so  glorious  had  ever  blazed  in  her  wildest 
dreams.  All  her  imaginings  of  the  graces  and  glamours  of 
the  Ancient  Warrior  in  the  charm  of  his  youth  and  the 
heyday  of  his  achievement  paled  and  grew  dim  and  faded 
out  of  comparison  with  this  magnificent  palpitant  reality. 
Her  hands  rested  petrified  upon  the  ear  of  corn  which  she 
was  about  to  wrest  from  its  stalk.  Her  eyes,  dilated,  fasci 
nated,  glowed  upon  him.  She  scarcely  dared  to  breathe, 
and  for  one  moment  silence  encompassed  the  group.  The 
breeze  only  vaguely  rustled  through  the  crisp,  sere  blades 
and  stalks ;  the  usual  sounds  of  the  town  were  annulled 
now,  with  its  "  beloved  square  "  vacant,  its  council-house 
still,  and  its  women  and  girls  all  away  at  their  labors  in  the 
further  fields.  It  sent  up  a  mere  murmur  that  came  drow 
sily  to  the  ear  on  the  perfumed  suave  air  of  this  sunlit  au 
tumnal  day,  for  the  search,  orderly  in  its  conduct,  was  not 


240  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

resisted,  and  made  scant  stir.  The  officer's  horse  broke  an 
interval  of  almost  absolute  stillness  when  it  once  more 
lowered  its  head  and  fretfully  beat  the  earth  with  its  high- 
stepping,  impatient  forefoot.  Suddenly  the  elderly  com 
missioner  started  from  his  saddle  with  an  exclamation  of 
bland  delight. 

"  Found,  sir,  found  at  last !  " 

The  officer's  horse  executed  an  abrupt  demivolt  as  its 
bewildered  rider  looked  hastily  around,  expectant  of  seeing 
the  fugitive.  The  Ancient  Warrior  himself  crouched  ap 
palled  in  his  flimsy  disguise. 

The  amiable  Mr.  Taviston  went  on  in  his  address  to  the 
lieutenant.  "  Do  you  remember  last  night  ?  "  he  sweetly 
queried,  while  Everard  mentally  asked  himself  would  he 
ever  forget  it.  "  I  had  then  the  pleasure  to  direct  your 
attention  to  it  —  the  Nicotiana  rustica" 

The  learned  man  was  afoot  now  and  in  the  path,  and  it 
may  be  doubted  if  a  person  of  his  quality,  so  dapper,  so 
sprucely  clad  in  his  fine  brown  cloth  and  silver  buckles,  ever 
sustained  a  glance  so  surcharged  with  contempt  as  the  look 
which  the  officer  bent  upon  him,  albeit  Everard  had  just 
had  a  sharp  lesson  touching  undue  intolerance,  and  Mr. 
Herbert  Taviston  was  of  far  more  worshipful  presence  in 
his  worldly  minded  wig  and  cocked  hat  than  in  his  intimate, 
reclusive,  betasseled  nightcap.  His  trim  legs  were  carry 
ing  him  briskly  into  the  field,  and  a  beatific  smile  of  scien 
tific  satisfaction  was  upon  his  serene,  smoothly  shaven 
cheeks  and  his  slightly  doubled  chin.  He  paused  where 
a  row  of  plants  of  the  "  old  religious  tobacco  "  had  once 
flourished  and  one  or  two  had  chanced  to  escape  the  garner 
ing  knife.  Before  plucking  a  leaf  he  said  with  punctilious 
courtesy  to  the  nearest  astounded  Cherokee,  "  May  I  ?  " 

The  stolid  Indians  were  obviously  thrown  into  confusion 
by  this  unexpected  demonstration.  It  seemed  to  them  that 
the  white  people,  even  those  of  the  same  nationality,  were 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  241 

infinitely  various,  and  that  there  was  no  reasoning  on  the 
basis  of  the  common  customs  and  traits  of  a  gens.  Here 
were  two  Englishmen  as  unlike,  as  far  apart  in  every  pulse 
and  every  phase  of  character,  as  if  no  national  tie  bound 
them  together.  The  inherent  courtesy  of  the  savage  aided 
the  botanist,  however,  and  the  nearest  Indian  vouchsafed  a 
bewildered  mutter  of  assent.  With  "  A  thousand  thanks, 
my  dear  sir  —  monstrous  obleeged,  1 7m  sure,"  Mr.  Tavis- 
ton  plucked  some  leaves  of  the  old  religious  tobacco  and 
still  happily  ambling,  retraced  his  way  to  the  side  of  the 
horse  of  the  officer,  who  had  hardly  yet  recovered  from 
the  impression  that  the  sudden  cry  of  discovery  heralded 
the  finding  of  the  fugitive  and  the  appropriate  finale  of 
his  dilemma. 

"Now,  my  dear  sir,"  said  the  botanist,  holding  up  to  the 
lieutenant  a  few  of  the  leaves,  "  let  me  beg  that  you  will 
do  me  the  favor  to  taste  these.  My  own  tongue  is  still 
tingling  with  the  pungency  of  mint,  and  the  discernment  of 
my  palate  thereby  blunted." 

And  once  more  he  offered  the  leaves. 

It  is  possible  that  the  officer  had  no  fear  of  a  probable 
tobacco  worm  in  the  unwashed  foliage,  still  lush  and  green, 
and  he  was  also  strongly  conscious  of  the  inscrutable,  atten 
tive  faces  of  the  Indians.  He  had  always  given  orders  that 
his  men  should  observe  caution  in  the  presence  of  the  sav 
ages  to  show  no  divisions,  no  discourtesies,  no  quarrels 
among  themselves,  thereby  bringing  each  other  into  con 
tempt  or  ridicule  which  might  be  shared  among  the  Indians, 
and  the  opportunity  improved  by  their  machinations.  There 
fore,  mindful  of  the  observation  of  sundry  of  the  soldiers,  he 
practiced  his  own  admonition.  Albeit  infinitely  against  his 
will,  he  thrust  the  leaves,  possible  tobacco  bug  and  all,  be 
tween  his  strong  white  teeth,  which  he  brought  crunching 
down  upon  them. 

"  And  how  does  it  compare  ?  how  does  it  taste  ?  "  de- 


242  A  SPECTKE  OF  POWER 

manded  the  botanist,  smiling  his  soft,  white  shaven  bene 
volence. 

"  Nasty,  sir,  very  extremely  nasty,"  said  the  disgusted 
lieutenant.  "  And  as  I  am  not  a  browsing  animal  generally, 
sir,  I  have  no  other  experience  of  green  forage  with  which 
to  compare  it." 

As,  despite  his  intention,  some  of  the  juice  went  down 
his  throat,  he  was  suddenly  reminded  of  the  botanist's 
laudation  of  the  skill  and  extraordinary  knowledge  of  the 
Cherokees  in  the  matter  of  vegetable  poisons,  and  felt  that 
he  was  relying  too  implicitly  upon  the  scientific  learning 
and  plant  identification  of  this  gentleman,  of  the  justice  of 
whose  pretensions  he  had  no  means  of  judging.  For  aught 
he  knew  the  stuff  might  be  poison.  It  was  certainly  unlike 
any  tobacco  that  he  had  ever  seen.  He  at  once  thrust  the 
leaves  from  his  mouth,  and  then  several  times  spat  copiously 
upon  the  ground,  the  action  of  the  saliva  being  stimulated 
by  the  tobacco. 

At  that  moment  the  corporal  came  up  with  the  report  that 
the  search  had  resulted  fruitlessly.  Everard  took  leave  of 
the  Indians  merely  with  a  ceremonious  bow,  and  the  party 
rode  hastily  off,  straight  down  the  river  and  once  more 
toward  Chote. 

For  one  instant  the  Cherokees  stood  silent  and  motion 
less,  watching  the  flying  horsemen,  the  sun  glittering  on 
their  red  coats  and  burnished  arms.  Then  to  Callum's 
amazement  an  elderly  Indian,  with  a  sudden  sharp  cry  such 
as  an  animal  might  utter  in  seizing  upon  its  prey,  sprang 
forward,  dropped  upon  his  knees  in  the  path,  and  caught  up 
.  the  dampened  tobacco  leaves  and  the  clod  of  clay  upon 
which  the  saliva  had  fallen.  Half  articulate  exclamations 
of  guttural  triumph  rang  upon  the  air  from  the  group,  and 
Callum,  glancing  from  one  fiercely  joyous  illuminated  face 
to  another,  felt  as  if  his  senses  were  in  the  thrall  of  some 
fantastically  horrible  nightmare.  For  the  possession  of 


A  SPECTKE  OF  POWER  243 

the  man's  saliva  gave  them,  according  to  their  savage  creed, 
power  over  the  man's  life.  It  would  end  when  the  spell 
should  be  worked. 

Perhaps  because  of  the  superstitions  of  his  native  land,  in 
which  his  childhood  had  been  deeply  imbued  and  which  his 
nerves  still  accredited,  while  his  mind  resolutely  repudiated 
them,  Callum  watched  with  a  sort  of  sickened  fright  the 
preparations  for  the  necromancy.  Far  away  the  laborers 
in  the  fields  were  working  now,  even  the  girl  who  had 
lingered  so  long,  and  the  sere  stalks  of  the  tall  corn  con 
cealed  the  secret  ceremony  of  the  schemers  from  the  other 
denizens  of  the  town.  Only  the  Ancient  Warrior,  who  had 
seen  so  much  of  yore,  was  to  behold  the  calling  down  of  the 
curse. 

Suddenly  —  Callum  could  not  believe  his  eyes  —  there 
issued  from  among  the  tall  cornstalks  the  figure  of  a  man,  a 
familiar  figure,  a  face  that  he  knew  well,  or  was  he  bereft 
of  his  senses  ?  For  here  was  Tarn  Wilson,  arrayed  in  buck 
skin,  fantastically  beaded  and  fringed  after  the  Indian  fash 
ion,  his  head  bare  and  polled  like  a  Cherokee's  and  decorated 
with  feathers.  Yachtino,  stepping  hastily  toward  him, 
greeted  him  in  the  Cherokee  language,  and  pointed  out  the 
preparations  for  the  necromancy.  Tarn  Wilson,  also  speak 
ing  in  Cherokee,  questioned  minutely,  and  stood  for  a  moment 
gazing  after  the  cheerataghe.  Then  as  he  turned  away  — 
miracle  of  miracles  !  —  he  spoke  to  himself  in  French. 

"  Tant  pis  pour  lui  !  "  he  commented  upon  the  work 
ing  of  the  spell.  "  A  bon  chat,  bon  rat!  " 

He  was  gone  in  another  moment  among  the  corn,  and 
Callum  understood  at  last  the  mystery  of  his  continued  pre 
sence  here,  —  that  this  was  the  arch-plotter  whose  machi 
nations  threatened  the  peace  of  the  Cherokee  country. 

Callum  was  dizzy  with  the  significance  of  the  discovery, 
the  thoughts  of  import,  that  crowded  upon  him.  Only  as 
in  a  dream  he  beheld  the  group  of  the  scheming  headmen 


244  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

of  Chilhowee,  eager,  breathless,  expectant,  standing  close  at 
hand  while  one  of  the  cheerataghe,  a  man  with  the  frenzy  of 
a  fanatic  in  his  eyes  and  the  fury  of  a  savage,  came  slowly 
down  the  space  between  two  rows  of  the  corn.  He  was 
clad  in  the  usual  buckskin  garb,  but  draped  above  it  was 
a  large  dressed  hide  decorated  with  painted  symbols  and 
strange  hieroglyphics.  Upon  his  head  he  wore  the  horns 
and  head  of  a  buffalo,  and  as  Callum  listened  to  the  incanta 
tion,  delivered  in  a  weird,  chanting  undertone,  with  frequent 
interpolations  of  a  sonorous,  exclamatory  "  Ha  !  "  and  anon 
pauses  of  impressive  silence,  he  felt  his  blood  go  cold. 

"  Usuhiyi  nunahi  wite  tsatanu  usi  gunesa  gunage  asa- 
halagi.  Tsutu  neliga"  (Toward' the  black  grave  of  the 
upland  in  the  Darkening  Land  your  paths  shall  tend.  So 
shall  it  be  for  you.) 

The  increasing  excitement  of  the  moment  showed  in  the 
attitude  of  the  other  Indians,  motionless,  yet  with  an  elec 
trical  energy  of  pose,  as  if  on  the  point  of  springing  for 
ward.  They  looked  on,  fiery  eyed  but  silent,  from  among 
the  cornstalks,  save  that  now  and  again  an  inadvertent 
"Ku!"  breathed  out  from  surcharged  lungs,  and  once  Yach- 
tino  muttered  "  Nigagi  !  "  (This  ends  it !) 

As  the  magician  paced  along  he  carried  in  his  hand,  like 
a  sceptre,  a  hollow  reed  of  the  poisonous  wild  parsnip,  filled 
with  a  paste  compounded  of  earthworms  and  the  spittle- 
moistened  clay,  to  be  buried  at  the  foot  of  a  lightning-scathed 
tree  in  the  forest. 

"  Tsudantagi  uskalutsiga.  Sakani  aduniga.  Usuhita 
atanissetij  ayalatsisesti  tsudantagi,  tsunanugaisti  nige- 
suna.  Sge  !  "  9  (Now  your  soul  has  faded  away.  It  has 
become  blue.  When  darkness  comes  your  spirit  shall  grow 
less  and  dwindle  away,  never  to  reappear.  Listen  !) 

The  wizard  had  reached  the  gloomy  shades  of  the  dense 
woods,  and  the  terrible  words  of  the  spell  came  floating  back 
on  the  air,  dwindling  with  the  distance  like  the  diminishing 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  245 

thread  of  the  life  which  it  affected  to  attenuate  and  reduce 
and  finally  cut  short. 

Listen !  not  even  an  echo  now  of  that  weird  voice  ! 
Only  the  river's  song ;  the  sound  of  the  wind  blaring  about 
Chilhowee  Mountain ;  the  vague,  far-off  tones  of  the  "  sec 
ond  man "  still  at  his  quips  and  quirks  in  the  field  ;  and 
suddenly  the  shrill,  callow  laughter  of  happy  children. 

But  for  the  icy  drops  starting  on  his  brow  Callum  might 
have  thought  he  had  been  dreaming.  Yet  he  stood  in  the 
burning  sun,  and  so  shivered  that  had  now  the  Cherokee 
Rose  gazed  upon  the  hero  of  her  fancies,  she  must  have 
deemed  the  Ancient  Warrior  stricken  with  the  palsy.  He 
was  alone,  however,  none  near  to  mark  his  lapse  from  the 
verisimilitude  of  deportment.  A  bee  came  buzzing  by,  and 
crawled  up  and  down  the  quaint  lines  of  the  gourd  vizard 
for  a  time,  making  the  Highlander  tremble  for  a  possible 
entrance  through  ear  or  eye  spaces,  but  at  last  it  took  dron 
ingly  to  wing.  A  lizard  basked  in  the  sun,  as  doubtless 
it  had  done  for  many  a  day,  on  a  stone  at  the  feet  of  the 
scarecrow.  A  blue  jay,  the  sauciest  of  feathered  rufflers, 
even  alighted  on  the  crown  of  the  dingy  old  bedraggled 
war-bonnet,  and  there  preened  his  brilliant  blue  and  white 
plumage,  and  clanged  his  wild  woodsy  cry,  and  so  off  again 
to  the  splendors  of  Chilhowee  Mountain,  gold  and  red 
above  the  silver  river  and  against  the  azure  sky.  And 
these  wights  were  all  the  passers-by,  while  Callum  shivered 
and  trembled  from  head  to  foot  and  scarce  could  stand. 
He  had  no  need  of  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character  to  be 
aware  that  the  savages  would  not  fail  to  assist  the  workings 
of  the  charm  by  non-magical  powers.  Everard,  undoubtedly, 
by  some  crafty  device  would  be  lured  to  his  destruction. 

The  tempter,  ever  present,  did  not  fail  to  suggest  thereby 
the  solution  of  Callum' s  own  problem :  with  Everard  gone, 
his  accuser  had  vanished.  Even  the  corporal  supposed 
his  incarceration  was  but  the  result  of  some  slight  insub- 


246  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

ordination,  OP  perhaps  Everard's  own  hasty  and  arbitrary 
whim  while  in  liquor.  As  to  the  bewildered  Mr.  Taviston, 
his  incoherent  impressions  were  hardly  to  be  considered,  so 
confused  was  he  by  the  sudden  altercation.  Thus  Callum 
might  escape  the  shame  of  the  lash  that  he  dreaded  more 
than  death  itself,  and  also  save  his  own  life.  He  put  the 
thought  from  him.  He  would  return  now  willingly,  will 
ingly  ;  he  would  in  this  cause  face  aught  that  might  menace 
him  —  and  not  for  sheer  conscience7  sake,  for  at  heart  he 
loved  the  fop  like  a  brother. 

Yet  should  he  issue  forth  and  return  to  camp,  he  well 
knew  that  Everard  would  laugh  the  threat  to  scorn,  and 
fancy  the  whole  adventure  feigned  to  win  his  gratitude  and 
save  the  culprit  from  the  lash.  Callum's  invention  would 
respond  to  no  goading.  How  could  he  forecast  and  thwart 
the  strange,  savage  lure  which  the  Indians  would  devise  ? 
That  it  would  be  apt,  efficient,  and  bold  withal,  on  the 
strength  of  their  faith  in  their  own  necromancy,  thus  cred 
iting  the  spell  with  the  result  of  their  own  efforts,  he  was 
sure.  And  yet  strive  as  he  might,  he  could  not  rouse  his 
jaded  faculties  to  divine,  to  baffle,  to  counterplot. 

Some  time  had  passed  thus,  when  a  sudden  movement 
close  at  hand  caused  him  unthinkingly  to  turn  his  head. 
Fortunately  the  gourd  vizard  was  so  ample  as  to  permit  the 
motion  without  stirring  the  mask.  There  again  was  the 
Indian  girl  who  had  gazed  so  lovingly  upon  the  effigy  as 
almost  to  disconcert  the  fair-haired  Callum  that  it  masked, 
—  not  gazing  upon  him  now,  however.  The  same  girl  it 
was,  he  was  sure,  although  she  passed  by  her  ancient  hero 
with  so  fickle  an  unconcern.  But  for  bewitchments  !  the 
Cherokee  Rose  was  metamorphosed  by  a  simple  splendor  into 
the  rarest  bloom.  White  beads  were  twined  in  her  long 
black  hair,  where  they  glistered  like  pearls.  A  strand  of 
the  large,  beautiful,  genuine  pearls,  still  found  in  the  rivers 
of  the  region,  only  slightly  discolored  by  the  heated  copper 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  247 

spindle  which  the  Indians  used  to  pierce  them,  encircled 
her  round,  roseate-tinted  throat.  Her  dress  of  fawnskin 
dappled  with  white  had  a  belt  of  many  rows  of  white  beads 
and  a  low  collar  or  cape  of  swans'  feathers.  Above  her 
high  white  buskins  two  small  skins  of  otter  fur,  worn  like 
garters,  were  each  trimmed  with  straight  stiff  swan's  quills 
that  stood  out  horizontally,  and  gave  the  suggestion  of 
wings  to  her  feet,  if  one  were  open  to  poetical  imagery, 
or  a  bantam-like  decoration,  if  prosaically  inclined.  Her 
face  was  turned  toward  the  road  with  a  wistful,  fascinated 
expression  in  her  soft,  liquid  eyes  that  would  have  been 
charming  to  view  if  any  but  the  supplanted  Ancient  War 
rior  had  beheld  her.  Now  and  again,  with  an  incomparably 
graceful,  lissome  gesture,  she  lifted  one  bare  arm  and  silently 
beckoned  the  unseen. 

The  expectation  of  an  approach  along  the  path  reminded 
Callum  of  the  sinister  consultation  of  the  headmen  here 
to-day,  and  suddenly  the  Ancient  Warrior  spoke. 

"  Higeya  tsusdiga  !  Higeya  tsusdiga  !  "  (Oh  little  wo 
man  !  Oh  little  woman  !) 

Instantly  she  was  palsied,  stricken  dumb.  Faithfully  as 
she  had  believed  in  the  Ancient  Warrior,  she  had  never 
thought  to  hear  him  speak.  Human  credence  has  ever  its 
reservations.  She  gazed  wide-eyed  at  the  image,  her  lips 
parted,  her  hand  on  her  plunging  heart. 

Sunset  was  on  the  face  of  the  effigy ;  the  soft  red  light 
freshened  the  effect  of  his  tattered  old  war-bonnet  and  gilded 
the  stalks  of  the  high  Indian  corn  amidst  which  he  stood. 
Whether  or  not  Callum  was  conscious  of  his  enhanced 
comeliness,  the  awe  and  respect  in  her  face  and  the  obvious 
simplicity  of  her  mental  endowment  nerved  the  young  dare 
devil  to  venture  further  speech.  And  indeed  something 
must  needs  be  risked  in  view  of  the  unwelcome  knowledge 
that  had  come  to  him  and  the  restrictions  that  hampered 
its  use.  He  mustered  his  best  Cherokee. 


248  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

"  Who  are  you  waiting  for,  little  woman  ?  " 
"No  Chickasaw,  oh  good  grandfather,"  she  cried  has 
tily  j  for  one  of  the  best  stories  of  the  "  second  man " 
chronicled  the  hatred  which  the  Ancient  Warrior  had  cher 
ished  against  that  tribe,  and  his  valor,  which  had  nearly 
exterminated  them  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  His  senti 
ments  were  pointed  by  the  fate  of  a  Cherokee  maiden  who 
married  a  Chickasaw  and  went  to  his  tribe  to  dwell,  and 
daily  the  Ancient  Warrior  dispatched  the  magic  messen 
ger  bird  that  lived  among  the  Tuckaleechee  towns  in  the 
Cherokee  country,  on  the  banks  of  the  Canot  Biver,  to  re 
mind  her  of  her  home ;  and  as  the  memories  she  could  not 
shake  off  clung  about  her,  she  finally  became  imprisoned  in 
their  convolutions ;  and  to  this  day  she  can  be  seen  in  the 
Chickasaw  country,  where  they  think  she  is  nothing  but 
what  she  seems,  —  a  tangle  of  grapevines ! 

The  Ancient  Warrior  said  nothing  in  reply.  He  was 
making  a  strenuous  mental  endeavor  to  adjust  another 
Cherokee  sentence.  His  silence  terrified  her.  His  anger 
was  full  of  spells,  as  the  "  second  man  "  well  knew ;  an 
ageya  lost  her  garters,  for  instance,  and  none  would  ever 
again  stay  on,  and  thereafter  she  presented  an  appearance 
painfully  undecorated.  The  Cherokee  Rose  abruptly  cut 
short  the  silent  linguistic  toil  of  the  Ancient  Warrior  by 
hurriedly  explaining  of  her  own  accord. 

"  A  strange  British  warrior,  oh  good  grandfather,  —  a 
splendid  red  captain,  most  beautiful  and  brave,  who  will 
come  up  the  path  and  pass  the  mountain  to-night  on  the 
way  to  Talassee  Town.  The  same,  oh  good  grandfather, 
that  made  the  road  bright  and  shining  to-day.  And  even 
if  he  should  come  after  the  sun  has  gone  down,  one  could 
never  miss  the  light  of  the  day,  but  could  see  him  yet  ride 
his  horse  along  the  river  bank.  For  he  is  like  the  sun  in 
splendid  red,  and  his  hair  shines  with  a  white  glister,  and 
the  look  in  his  eyes  warms  the  heart." 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  249 

The  Ancient  Warrior  marked  how  the  mental  image  she 
had  summoned  up  diverted  her  attention  from  him,  for  the 
fascination  of  the  supernatural  had  waned  as  she  spoke,  and 
she  turned  half  away  from  the  effigy,  which  she  had  once 
so  reverenced,  to  gaze  along  the  curving  westward  path  for 
the  vision  of  her  anticipation.  The  Ancient  Warrior,  all 
sullen  and  serious,  gazed  calculatingly  and  doubtfully  at  her. 

The  ranges  were  purpling  along  the  perspectives  of  the 
background;  the  forests  of  Chilhowee  Mountain  flamed 
gorgeously  gold  and  red  in  the  middle  distance ;  the  sky 
above  was  all  radiant  with  a  uniform  amber  tint.  As  she 
stood  amidst  the  sun-suffused  Indian  corn,  the  sere  hues  of 
which  so  harmonized  with  the  deeper  shade  of  her  garb  of 
white-dappled  fawnskin,  and  the  dense  white  of  the  swan's 
feathers  about  her  shoulders,  she  looked  as  might  some 
primeval  ideal  of  the  mystic  harvest  moon.  Half  mechan 
ically  she  still  beckoned,  as  if  thus  she  might  bring  the  sun 
of  her  fancy  to  meet  her  upon  the  horizon  line. 

"  Ha,  Capteny  Gigagei !  "  she  cried.  "  Usinuliyu  ! 
Usinuliyu  !  "  (Oh  great  red  captain  !  Haste  !  Haste  !) 

The  Ancient  Warrior  suddenly  spoke  sternly.  "  Higeya, 
hatu  ganiga  !  "  (You,  woman,  come  and  listen  to  me  !) 

Once  more  with  that  unquestioning  subjection  to  the 
superstitions  of  the  cult  in  which  she  had  been  reared,  — 
oh  wily  second  man !  —  she  turned  submissively  toward 
the  Ancient  Warrior,  albeit  her  docile  obedience  might 
cost  her  eyes  the  first  resplendent  glimpse  of  the  Capteny 
Gigagei,  riding  his  gallant  war-horse  straight  out  of  the  red 
west  and  the  illumined  amethystine  mountains,  whither  that 
humbler  scarlet  splendor,  the  god  of  day,  was  now  slowly 
disappearing.  She  lifted  her  appealing  child-like  eyes  to 
the  gourd  vizard  of  the  young  Highlander,  and  well  it  was 
that  he  wore  this  impassive  mask,  for  his  own  face  was 
pallid  with  exhaustion  from  a  sleepless  night  and  the  exer 
tion  of  standing  all  day  without  food,  drawn  with  the  stress 


250  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

of  much  anxiety,  and  lined  with  the  many  perplexities  of 
his  thoughts.  The  gourd  face,  however,  acquiring  naught 
by  propinquity,  looked  as  it  always  did,  as  its  Indian 
draughtsman  intended  that  it  should,  —  arrogant,  surly, 
threatening,  and  very  majestic. 

"  Oh  good  grandfather  !  "  she  faltered. 

"  Higeya  tsusdiga  (Oh  little  woman),  how  do  you  know 
he  comes  ?  " 

"  Oh,  he  comes,  he  comes  without  doubt !  —  the  head 
men  said  late,  but  I  hoped  early,  so  that  I  might  see  him 
as  he  rides  his  splendid  horse  along  the  river  bank.  The 
headmen  know  he  comes ;  they  are  ready  for  him  ;  he 
will  be  received  at  the  house  of  the  chief  of  Talassee.  He 
comes  because  a'  wicked  man  —  one  of  his  own  soldiers  — 
has  fled,  has  deserted  the  great  red  Capteny,  and  is  in  hid 
ing  at  Talassee  Town,  and  the  headmen  have  sent  him  the 
message  that  he  may  come  and  take  him  with  his  own  hand, 
lest  the  plaid  soldiers,  the  comrades  of  the  runagate,  wreak 
vengeance  on  Talassee,  should  the  town  deliver  him  up  to 
penance.  The  headmen  have  only  secretly  sent  messages 
where  the  fugitive  can  be  found.  Oh  good  grandfather, 
the  Capteny  comes,  he  comes !  To-night  he  will  abide  at 
the  house  of  the  chief  of  Talassee,  where  a  great  feast  is 
made  in  his  honor,  and  the  braves  will  dance  the  eagle-tail 
dance,  and  then  the  young  girls  will  dance  in  three  circles 
with  the  braves,  and  I,  too,  I  am  to  dance.  And  there 
will  be  good  store  of  wine  at  the  feast  (lowering  her  voice 
mysteriously)  — 'French  wine,  oh  good  grandfather,  but 
surely  the"  Capteny  Gigagei  cannot  taste  its  French-ness  ! 
And  to-morrow  the  army  of  the  commissioners  will  start 
back  to  the  Carolina  country  and  overtake  the  great  red 
Capteny  at  Talassee,  and  he  will  march  at  the  head  like  the 
king  of  his  tribe." 

The  heart  of  the  Ancient  Warrior  turned  cold  and  seemed 
to  cease  to  beat.  The  ingenious  scheme  was  thus  unwit- 


A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER  251 

tingly  outlined  before  him.  He  knew  that  the  thought  of 
personal  danger  would  never  occur  to  Everard  as  the  re 
sult  of  the  French  coins  in  his  keeping  and  his  knowledge 
of  their  significance,  since  any  personal  violence  offered  to 
a  man  of  his  note  would  result  in  instant  discovery  and 
speedy  vengeance.  From  the  beginning  of  the  negotiations 
there  had  been  more  or  less  interchange  of  friendly  courte 
sies  and  mutual  hospitalities  between  the  Cherokee  head 
men,  the  commissioners,  and  the  commander  of  the  military 
force.  Although  Everard  kept  the  rank  and  file  close  in 
camp,  in  view  of  the  disastrous  possibility  of  clashing  be 
tween  the  boisterous  young  soldiers  and  the  "  mad  young 
men  "  of  the  tribe,  he  himself  went  about  the  country  freely 
enough.  He  would  not  hesitate,  Callum  was  sure,  to  leave 
his  orders  with  the  first  sergeant  for  the  march  of  the  troops 
on  the  following  day,  and  accompanied  by  a  single  orderly, 
or  perhaps  by  only  the  Cherokee  guide,  proceed  to  the  tryst 
of  the  headmen,  where  he  would  expect  to  capture  the  run 
away  Highlander,  and  rejoin  the  escort  when  its  vanguard 
should  come  in  sight  from  beyond  Chilhowee  Mountain. 

No  prophet  need  one  be  to  foretell  how  the  lines  would 
straggle  past ;  how  the  sergeant  in  command  would  hourly 
expect  his  superior  for  a  while  ;  then  being  without  orders 
to  halt  would  proceed  for  a  day  or  so,  Everard's  linger 
ing  stay  being  of  course  within  his  own  discretion.  And 
at  last  anxiety  would  develop,  increase  to  troublous  forecast, 
to  panic  fear ;  a  halt  would  be  called,  a  detachment  sent 
back,  to  find  —  nothing  !  A  mysterious  disappearance,  — 
some  crafty,  subtle,  convincing  story  to  account  for  it  in 
nocuously.  Callum  did  not  dream  what  this  could  be; 
only  afterward  its  details  were  made  clear  to  him  by  an 
other,  more  discerning. 

What  fate  ?  he  speculated  —  the  river  ?  No.  The  first 
sergeant,  quailing  under  his  awful  responsibility,  would  drag 
it  for  miles  and  miles  in  search  of  the  body.  The  stake  ?  > — 


252  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

a  handful  of  ashes  could  tell  no  tale.  Surely  the  magic  com 
pound  of  earthworms  and  spittle-moistened  clay,  mysteri 
ously  potent,  buried  at  the  foot  of  the  lightning-scathed  tree, 
might  spare  room  for  the  sepulture  of  so  trifling  a  residuum 
of  all  that  gay  spirit  exhaled  in  smoke.  Perhaps  a  more 
stealthy  method  still  —  Everard  might  he  drugged  into  quick 
insensibility  by  some  mysterious  poison  mixed  with  the 
French  wine,  and  buried  forever  out  of  sight  somewhere  in 
the  infinities  of  the  illimitable  wilderness. 

The  Ancient  Warrior  trembled  till  the  pole  which  aided 
to  support  him  shook  in  the  ground. 

One  by  one  the  schemes  of  possible  rescue  of  his  erstwhile 
friend  and  his  present  enemy,  and  above  all  and  before  all 
his  commanding  officer,  fell  to  shreds  as  he  sought  to  hold 
up  the  fabric  in  contemplation  of  its  feasibility.  He  said 
again  that  he  would  surrender  himself  now  most  willingly  ; 
he  would  resign  himself  to  any  punishment  rather  than  this 
disaster,  this  treachery,  this  cowardly  massacre,  should  ensue. 
But  how  would  surrender  now  avail  ?  He  could  not  regain 
the  camp  without  the  danger  of  passing  Everard,  coming 
hither  on  another  path.  He  resolved  that  as  soon  as  the  first 
beat  of  the  horse's  hoofs  should  herald  an  approach  he  would 
rush  out  from  his  hiding-place,  seize  the  officer's  bridle,  and 
compel  him  to  listen. 

Alack,  the  sun  was  already  down  ;  the  dun  shadows  were 
on  the  land ;  far  away  the  dim  stretch  of  the  sere  corn 
fields  held  all  the  fading  light  between  the  slate-hued  clouds, 
coming  up  from  the  south  over  the  Great  Smoky  Mountains, 
and  the  deep  purple  ranges  that  loomed  close  about  and  lim 
ited  the  horizon.  A  dark  night  was  at  hand,  without  a  star. 
How  should  he  distinguish  the  hoof-beat  of  one  horse  from 
another  ?  Everard  might  well  pass  without  a  word. 

As  thus  the  difficulties  of  the  situation  baffled  his  flag 
ging  invention,  the  Ancient  Warrior  unwittingly  lifted  his 
hands  and  wrung  them  together  in  the  hard  stress  of  his 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  253 

contending  emotions.  His  grotesque  vizard  was  upturned 
appealingly  to  the  darkening  sky,  and  he  uttered  a  deep 
sigh. 

The  Cherokee  girl,  with  a  sudden  look  of  appalled  dis 
cernment  on  her  face,  stepped  back  abruptly  in  affright, 
then  stood  in  the  shadows  of  the  denser  stalks  of  corn,  all 
writhen  and  twisted  about  her,  and  gazed  through  the  deep 
ening  dusk  at  the  effigy. 

In  this  crisis,  this  emotional  revulsion  of  loyalty  to  his 
officer  and  affection  to  his  friend,  Callum  would  not  have 
grudged  the  sacrifice  had  he  rushed  out  blindly  in  the  night 
and  by  mischance  revealed  himself  to  Indian  horsemen  and 
certain  capture,  if  it  would  not  also  entail  the  success  of 
their  treachery  in  decoying  Everard  to  his  death. 

"Eh,  gude  God  —  he  niaunna  come  —  he  maunna  ride  at 
a'  the  nicht,"  he  said  aloud  in  a  strained,  poignant  voice, 
all  oblivious  of  the  Indian  girl,  who  still  stood  hidden  in 
the  dusk  and  the  tall  stalks  of  the  maize,  and  silently, 
breathlessly,  stared. 

Much  accomplished  as  she  had  known  the  Ancient  War 
rior  to  be,  not  even  his  vaunting  biographer,  the  "  second 
man,"  had  ever  claimed  that  he  spoke  English. 

The  poor  Ancient  Warrior !  His  head  drooped  quite 
low,  despite  the  arrogance  of  the  expression  of  his  vizard. 
There  was  something  in  his  eyes  that  scalded  them,  for 
the  Highlander  was  still  very  young,  and  had  been  gently 
reared  in  a  household  of  sisters ;  and  his  great  proficiency  in 
the  use  of  the  broadsword,  which  made  him  so  valued  a  sol 
dier,  was  superimposed  upon  simple,  tender-hearted,  ingle- 
side  habitudes.  In  fact  he  must  needs  slip  a  hand  up  under 
his  roomy  vizard  to  wipe  off  the  very  genuine  tears  which 
were  burning  his  cheek  —  not  that  he  acknowledged  these 
tears,  no,  not  even  to  himself. 

"  Hegh,  sirs,"  he  exclaimed,  "  this  singeing  reek  is  fair 
blindin'  me ! " 


254  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

As  he  spoke  a  new  thought  struck  him.  He  lifted  his 
head  once  more  and  snuffed  the  odor  of  the  distant  burning 
woods. 

It  was  dark  now,  quite  dark.  The  color  of  the  cloud 
and  the  mountain  had  blended  indissolubly  in  densest  in 
visibility.  Not  a  star  was  alight  in  the  sky.  Only  to  one 
standing  in  the  cornfield,  hardly  a  yard  away,  and  with  a 
discernment  keenly  whetted  by  previous  sight  and  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  surrounding  objects,  could  aught  have 
been  perceptible  as  Callum  straightened  himself,  and  turn 
ing,  looked  carefully  around  him. 

"  The  bit  lassock  ha'  flitted  awa',"  he  said,  quite  satisfied. 

But  close  at  hand,  still  screened  by  the  darkness  and  the 
tangled  growth,  she  watched  the  Ancient  Warrior  fling  his 
vizard  into  the  peas,  strip  off  his  buckskin  shirt  and  leg 
gings,  and  emerge  in  the  kilt  and  plaid  of  one  of  the  High 
landers  of  the  escort.  With  the  quick,  keen  wits  of  her 
race  she  made  no  doubt  that  here  was  the  wicked  renegade 
who  had  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  splendid  red  sun- 
god  of  a  captain,  and  who  was  falsely  reputed  to  be  lurking 
in  hiding  at  Talassee. 

Callum,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  struck  off  in  a 
long,  rapid  stride  through  the  corn.  Silently,  stealthily,  she 
followed  him  —  not  like  a  shadow,  for  not  even  a  shadow 
could  follow  thus  through  the  densities  of  that  dark  night. 


XIII 

AT  camp  an  unusual  activity  had  characterized  the  clos 
ing  hours  of  the  afternoon.  It  was  the  eve  of  the  day  fixed 
for  the  departure  of  the  commissioners  and  their  escort. 
The  official  business  had  been  concluded.  The  survey  of 
the  land  to  be  ceded  was  completed.  The  last  feigning 
objections  on  the  part  of  the  Cherokee  headmen  and  the  final 
devious  doubtings  of  the  commissioners  had  been  merged 
in  mutual  concession  and  compliant  acquiescence.  The 
gifts  brought  to  propitiate  the  Indians  had  been  presented 
and  graciously  accepted,  and  the  official  farewell  taken  with 
much  smoking  of  the  friend-pipe  and  saltatory  agilities  of 
the  eagle-tail  dance. 

That  no  unforeseen  mischance  might  hamper  the  early 
start,  Everard,  with  military  prevision,  had  caused  every 
preparation  to  be  so  completed  as  to  leave  as  little  as  possi 
ble  to  be  done  on  the  morrow.  The  pack-horses  had  been 
ranged  in  due  order  and  tethered,  and  had  but  to  be  loaded, 
the  fardels  of  the  pack  saddles  being  already  made  up  and 
strapped  on  ;  the  travel  rations  for  several  days  had  been 
issued  to  the  men  ;  the  personal  luggage  of  the  commission 
ers  was  also  ready,  owing  to  the  repeated  insistence  of 
Everard ;  the  final  orders  had  been  given  the  first  sergeant, 
left  in  command  in  his  stead  till  he  should  join  the  line  of 
march  at  Talassee.  He  himself  in  his  tent,  with  hardly  a 
hand's  turn  left  to  be  done,  was  on  the  point  of  setting  out 
to  ride  to  Talassee  Town  with  his  Cherokee  guide  to  capture 
Callum  Macllvesty. 

The  Indians  had  made  a  mystery  of  their  information. 


256  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

They  had  first  sworn  Everard  to  secrecy  and  then  held  back 
as  if  to  disappoint  him  finally.  They  affected  fear  of  the 
Highland  contingent.  Oh,  the  plaid-men  were  very  terri 
ble  warriors  !  Were  the  horrors  of  Montgomerie's  campaign 
and  the  slaughter  and  the  fire-raising  of  Grant  ever  to  be 
forgotten  ?  And  since  the  Cherokees  did  all  in  love  for  the 
great  red  Capteny,  it  would  not  be  wise  or  kind  of  him  to 
allow  the  wrath  of  the  plaid-men,  for  the  surrender  of  their 
brother,  to  fall  on  Talassee  Town,  which  the  Highlanders 
might  sack  or  burn  —  well  remembered  were  their  sackings 
and  burnings  !  —  as  they  marched  through  on  the  morrow 
upon  the  peaceful  trading-path,  which  was  now  so  white 
arid  bright  from  end  to  end.  If  the  great  red  Capteny  did 
not  wish  this  path  to  be  stained  with  the  blood  of  the  In 
dians,  and  perhaps  of  the  plaid-men  also,  it  would  be  well 
if  he  came  to  Talassee  Town  himself.  There  he  might 
meet  his  tartan  renegade  as  if  by  chance,  and  take  him  with 
his  own  hand. 

Everard  was  troubled  beyond  expression  by  Macllvesty's 
continued  absence ;  first,  because  of  a  genuine  and  humane 
fear  that  he  would  suffer  a  horrible  death  at  the  hands 
of  the  treacherous  Indians,  especially  as  the  imminent  de 
parture  of  the  troops  could  not  be  postponed  on  the  desper 
ate  hope  of  a  still  further  search  for  the  willful  runagate, 
and  Callum  would  necessarily  be  left  alone  and  at  their 
mercy  in  the  savage  wilds.  Nevertheless,  the  anger  of  the 
officer  burned  with  great  rancor.  He  believed  that  he 
would  not  have  suffered  the  least  pity  had  a  court-martial 
gone  the  extreme  length  of  sentencing  Macllvesty  to  be 
shot.  That  he  should  be  brought  to  the  degradation  of  the 
lash  seemed  to  the  lieutenant  most  meet  and  fitting  when 
ever  he  felt  the  smart  of  that  scarlet  diagonal  line,  begin 
ning  to  turn  slightly  blue,  across  his  cheek.  Punishment 
Macllvesty  had  richly  deserved,  but  the  accident  of  torture 
by  savages  could  not  be  accounted  retribution  for  the  crime 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  257 

of  striking  his  officer.  Nor  could  Everard,  as  his  officer, 
feel  justified  in  abandoning  the  Highlander  to  such  a  fate 
except  at  the  last  extremity,  although  he  would  not  have 
regretted  the  righteous  exaction  of  every  pang  of  the  penalty 
to  which  a  court-martial  might  sentence  the  culprit.  There 
fore,  impatient  of  the  mysterious  locutions  and  doubts,  and 
alternate  promises  and  withdrawals,  by  which  the  Chero- 
kees  sought  to  magnify  the  importance  of  their  disclosure, 
Everard  took  no  heed  of  personal  prudence  and  was  ready 
to  put  foot  in  the  stirrup  when  suddenly  there  appeared  at 
the  flap  of  his  tent  one  of  the  commissioners,  fresh  from 
an  outing,  clad  in  a  long  and  dapper  riding  "  Joseph,"  his 
head  cowled  with  a  comfortable  "  trot  cosy,"  a  suave  smile 
upon  his  lips,  and  a  bland  "  May  I  ?  "  upon  his  tongue. 

Everard  in  another  moment  had  cause  to  curse  his  folly 
that  he  did  not  refuse  the  commissioner  entrance  ;  but  he 
imputed  much  importance  to  a  request  which  he  antici 
pated,  and  therefore  seated  himself  upon  a  stump  of  a  tree, 
which  had  been  sawed  off  smoothly  to  serve  as  a  table,  and 
resigned  the  single  camp  stool  to  the  guest. 

"  The  Magnolia  auriculata"  Mr.  Taviston  said  with  a 
sigh  of  pleasure,  "the  most  pompous  beauty  of  the  forest." 

He  held  forth  a  leaf  of  a  tree,  which  a  greater  botanist 
has  since  rapturously  described  as  "superbly  crowned  or 
crested  with  the  fragrant  flower  representing  a  white  plume, 
succeeded  by  a  very  large  crimson  cone  or  strobile." 

The  officer  gazed  at  it  with  uninterested  and  unrecogniz- 
ing  eyes.  The  only  magnolia  which  he  could  identify  was 
the  growth  which  we  call  grandiflora,  and  which  he  had 
seen  farther  south. 

"  I  have  spent  the  day  among  the  magnolias,"  said  the 
botanist,  smiling  consciously  and  with  a  sort  of  gloating 
reminiscence,  as  if  Daphne  herself  had  entertained  him  in 
the  boskiest  bowers.  "And  here,"  presenting  a  gigantic 
leaf,  "  is  the  Magnolia  tripetala  —  and  this,  the  Magnolia 


258  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

pyramidata  —  foliis  ovatis,  oUongis,  acuminatis,  basi 
auriculatiS}  strobile  oblongo  ovato." 

"  Good  God,  sir  !  "  the  petulant  officer  interposed,  hastily 
rising  in  desperation.  "  I  cry  you  mercy  !  My  duties  " 
—  he  hesitated,  then  stopped  short. 

For  the  trip  must  needs  seem  of  his  own  choosing,  —  to 
attend  a  feast  made  in  his  honor  by  the  Cherokees  because 
of  his  seeming  interest  in  Indian  life  and  ceremonial.  The 
thought  of  the  postponement  of  his  ride  and  its  important  ob 
ject  greatly  perturbed  him.  He  had  hoped  to  avoid  delay  by 
admitting  his  tormentor.  Twice,  nay  thrice,  after  the  bot 
anist's  baggage  had  been  consigned  to  the  locality  where  the 
pack-train  was  to  be  loaded  had  the  quartermaster  sergeant, 
who  officiated  as  chief  of  transportation,  reported  to  the  com 
manding  officer  various  vexatious  requests  of  the  worshipful 
Herbert  Taviston  to  be  allowed  another  deposit  therein  of 
trophies  of  bark  and  leaves,  and,  for  aught  I  know,  cater 
pillars  and  beetles,  —  natural  specimens,  which  he  did  not 
hesitate  in  the  interests  of  science  to  insert  amongst  his 
immaculate  and  high-minded  toggery.  The  lieutenant, 
anticipating  the  renewal  of  such  requests,  had  intended  to 
peremptorily  refuse  another  overhauling  of  the  baggage, 
because  of  the  confusion  entailed  upon  the  somnolent  and 
orderly  camp,  and  possible  delay  on  the  morrow.  Hence 
he  was  thrown  out  of  his  calculations,  and  flushed  and  bit 
his  lip  with  vexation.  Nevertheless  he  could  not  rid  him 
self  perfunctorily  of  the  presence  of  his  unwelcome  visitor 
by  the  plea  of  the  pressure  of  official  duties.  The  prepara 
tions  for  the  morrow's  march  were  obviously  complete,  the 
camp  asleep  ;  moreover,  his  spurs  jingled  at  his  heels  and 
his  horse  pawed  at  the  door  of  the  tent.  The  pretext  of 
his  own  diversion  was  necessary  to  protect  or  satisfy  his 
Cherokee  informants  and  to  furnish  a  reason  for  his  quitting 
the  camp.  He  looked  with  sudden  hopefulness  at  Mr.  Tavis 
ton,  who  also  rose,  but  the  motion  was  merely  mechanical, 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  259 

•without  a  parting  instinct.  The  smile  yet  resting  upon  the 
botanist's  face  was  inattentive,  undiscerning.  The  officer 
was  a  natural  specimen  the  study  of  which  did  not  allure 
him  in  the  least.  He  scarcely  listened  to  the  lieutenant's 
words,  so  absorbed  was  he  in  the  subject. 

"  The  soil  of  this  region  is  rich,  sir,  incredibly  rich  for 
mountain  slopes.  This  redundant  example  of  the  Magnolia 
acuminata,  sir,  hangs  positively  over  a  precipice,  craggy 
steeps,  imposing  and  horrid.  If  you  would  but  give  your 
self  the  trouble  to  step  with  me  to  the  door,  I  could  point 
out  to  you,  even  in  the  darkness,  the  height  of  the  location 
where  I  found  it,  —  an  altitude  of  fully  two  thousand  feet. 
The  precipice  is  distinctly  imposed  upon  the  sky  against  the 
constellation  Perseus,  which  must  be  well  risen  now  if  the 
clouds  —  ah  —  ah  —  ah  !  " 

The  officer,  moving  alertly  toward  the  door,  following 
his  guest  in  the  hope  of  ultimate  release  outside,  had  held  up 
the  flap  that  the  botanist  might  emerge,  and  frowned  heavily 
as  he  heard  Mr.  Taviston's  voice  rising  into  a  quavering 
exclamation  of  surprise. 

"  What  cracker  next !  "  Everard  cried  impatiently. 

In  a  moment  the  words  died  upon  his  lips,  and  he  stood 
staring  out  into  the  night,  half  dazed  with  his  sudden  re 
vulsion  of  feeling  and  the  extraordinary  sight  that  met  his 
eyes. 

For  the  woods  of  Chilhowee  Mountain  were  not  invisi 
ble  in  the  purple  night  and  under  the  black  cloud,  but 
splendidly  agleam  in  the  shadows.  All  red  and  gold  they 
showed,  and  wreathed  about  with  scroll-like  involutions  of 
blue  smoke.  Volleying  here  and  there  at  wide  intervals 
were  jets  of  flame,  vivid  white,  tinged  with  red  at  the 
verges.  Now  and  then  strange  meteors  flew  through  the 
dense  forests  in  airy  arabesques,  lace-like  in  their  tenuity, 
where  the  blazes  caught  at  sparse  series  of  dead  leaves  still 
hanging  sere  and  dry  in  wind-denuded  areas.  The  ranges 


260  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

in  the  distance  were  suddenly  evoked  from  the  darkness  and 
stood  as  in  a  trance,  motionless.  Further  still,  in  the  ulti 
mate  scope  of  vision,  vague,  illusory  suggestions  of  mountain 
forms  continually  trembled  and  nickered  as  the  flames  rose 
and  fell.  The  fire  was  fierce  and  furious  along  the  lower 
reaches  of  Chilhowee  where  the  trading-path  crossed,  for 
much  light  wood  of  undergrowth  was  among  the  great  trees, 
and  the  elastic  blazes  that  could  only  leap  hound-like  about 
the  huge  boles,  as  if  seeking  to  seize  their  prey  in  the 
branches,  easily  enveloped  the  slender  saplings,  which  now 
and  again  sent  forth  cracklings  as  of  a  sudden  volley  of 
musketry.  All  the  black  cloud  above  looked  down  in  sul 
len  dismay  at  the  aghast  earth,  thus  roused  out  of  the  abyss 
of  darkness  and  night,  with  a  strange,  unnatural  aspect  upon 
the  familiar  contours  of  the  landscape. 

The  Cherokee  towns  along  the  river  were  all  astir. 
Here  and  there  upon  the  banks  flitted  scantily  clad  Indian 
figures,  gazing  at  the  mountain  and  speculating  upon  the 
mystery  of  the  ignition  of  the  woods ;  for  the  Chilhowee 
Mountain  is  many  miles  in  length,  and  it  would  seem  that 
some  region  nearer  to  the  distant  burning  forests,  unseen 
and  far  to  the  north,  must  have  been  first  fired.  Although 
because  of  the  recent  drought  the  woods  were  dry,  they 
would  never  have  burned  without  extraneous  kindling. 

Everard  had  turned  instinctively  to  his  horse,  with  the 
intention  of  riding  forth  to  investigate.  His  Cherokee 
guide  checked  him. 

"  No  can  ride  to  Talassee  —  no  can  cross  mountain  — 
fire  — fire— all  fire!" 

The  amazement,  the  dismay,  and  something  more  —  the 
deep,  cogitating  speculation  on  the  man's  face  —  fixed 
Everard's  attention.  The  light  of  the  burning  scene  was 
full  upon  it,  glimmering  upon  the  feathers  an  the  top  of  the 
Indian's  head  as  he  bent  forward  to  gaze,  but  the  shadow 
annulled  the  rest  of  his  body,  and  his  aspect  in  the  weird 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  261 

effects  of  the  flicker  was  as  if  he  had  been  decapitated. 
When  Everard  next  turned  to  speak  to  him  the  man  had 
disappeared.  Inquiry  revealed  the  fact  that  he  had  quitted 
the  camp.  For  the  first  time  Everard  experienced  a  sudden 
douht  of  him.  What  significance  did  he  perceive  in  the 
fire  ?  And  why  should  he  look  so  downcast,  so  defeated, 
so  despairing  —  as  at  the  end  ? 

The  camp  had  been  roused  by  the  crackle  and  roar  of 
the  flames  and  the  wide,  blaring  illumination,  as  if  the 
world  were  afire.  The  omeer  doubled  the  camp  guard  by 
way  of  precaution  against  any  disturbance,  lest  the  kindling 
of  this  conflagration  be  attributed  to  the  agency  of  the  sol 
diers  as  a  bit  of  bravado  on  their  part,  and  rouse  the  wrath 
of  the  Indians  to  reprisal.  Then  he  went  back  into  his 
tent  and  sat  down  on  the  camp  stool  beside  the  table, 
rudely  fashioned  of  the  stump  of  a  great  tree,  and  tried  to 
think  out  some  new  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  capture 
of  Macllvesty.  The  candle  was  still  burning  with  a  timid, 
white,  pearly  lustre,  all  pallid  and  dim  against  the  great 
yellow  flare  outside,  which  showed  through  the  translucent 
canvas  walls.  The  gigantic  leaves  of  the  Magnolia  tripetala 
still  lay  on  the  improvised  table,  and  he  had  his  elbows 
among  them  and  his  head  in  his  hands,  when  suddenly 
he  was  aware  of  the  corporal  of  the  guard  standing  and 
saluting  in  the  doorway. 

"  Ready  with  some  new  foolery  ? "  Everard  demanded 
tartly. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  the  corporal  replied  with  anxious  depreca 
tion.  "  Here 's  a  messenger,  sir.  I  can't  make  out  who 
she  comes  from.  But  she  seemed  possessed  to  get  a  word 
with  you,  sir.  She  was  so  excited  and  hasty  that,  though 
I  had  no  orders,  I  was  afraid  of  letting  important  news  slip 
if  I  sent  her  away." 

"  What 's  her  name  ?  "  demanded  Everard,  in  frowning 
haste.  The  moments  at  this  crisis  were  important. 


262  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

"  I  don't  know  the  Injun  lingo,  sir,  but  they  call  her 
the  <  Cherokee  Kose.'  " 

"  Then  hale  her  off !  "  cried  Everard,  bringing  his  hand 
down  on  the  table  with  a  force  that  made  the  candle  jump 
in  its  socket.  "  I  want  no  rosaceous  specimens  here,  na 
tive  or  foreign.  No  —  the  Cherokee  Hose  —  I  have  done 
with  botany  forever,  I  swear !  "  He  spoke  as  if  he  had 
given  many  years  of  unrequited  and  fruitless  study  to  that 
ungrateful  science.  "  Send  the  baggage  about  her  busi 
ness  !  The  Cherokee  Hose,  forsooth  ! "  he  repeated  fleer- 
ingly. 

He  turned  suddenly,  hearing  a  slight  scuffle  without,  and 
the  next  moment  the  flap  of  his  tent  was  drawn  back  and 
the  girl  stood  in  the  doorway,  the  flaming  night  behind 
her,  and  all  her  amber  and  white  attire  showing  in  soft 
splendor  and  full  detail  in  the  refined,  subdued,  pearly  light 
of  the  single  candle.  The  discomfited  corporal,  who  had 
sought  to  detain  her  by  as  much  force  as  he  dared  to  exert, 
was  vaguely  glimpsed  in  the  background,  sullenly  resigning 
himself  to  wait  to  conduct  her  out  of  camp,  as  he  saw  that 
Everard  had  a  mind  now  to  give  her  an  audience.  Her 
first  words  had  arrested  the  lieutenant's  attention.  He  could 
not  have  constructed  the  sentences  that  issued  from  her 
trembling  scarlet  lips,  but  the  sound  of  the  Cherokee  lan 
guage  had  grown  familiar  in  many  weeks'  sojourn  here,  and 
he  understood  its  drift  and  made  shift  to  reply. 

"  I  have  found  your  plaid-man,"  she  cried.  "  Oh,  the 
wicked  one  ! "  casting  up  her  liquid  eyes  in  aspiration. 
"  Cut  off  his  head  !  Cut  it  off  clean  !  " 

"  But  where  ?  when  was  he  found  ?  "  Everard  exclaimed 
eagerly. 

"  Oh,  now  you  have  lent  your  ear  to  listen  !  "  she  cried 
triumphantly.  She  glanced  warily  over  her  shoulder  to 
make  sure  that  the  corporal  had  not  also  lent  his  ear  for  the 
same  purpose.  Then  leaning  forward,  the  flap  of  the  tent 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  263 

still  in  one  hand,  her  finger  now  and  again  cautiously  laid 
on  her  lips,  she  detailed  the  strange  metamorphosis  of  the 
Ancient  Warrior  into  a  Highland  soldier  which  she  had 
witnessed,  and  every  word  that  he  had  said  she  repeated  in 
English  as  she  had  heard  it,  with  a  faithful  duplication  of 
accent  and  gesture. 

"  You  were  to  come  to  Talassee,  and  he  would  not  let 
you,  —  you  the  great  red  Capteny,  and  he  the  dust  of  the 
earth  !  —  where  a  feast  was  made  for  you,  and  the  headmen 
waited,  and  many  young  and  beautiful  were  to  dance,  and 
I  was  to  dance.  See  !  —  was  I  not  to  dance  ?  " 

Her  anklets  of  white  beads  jingled  in  unison  as  she 
moved  her  slender  restless  feet  in  their  buskins  of  fine 
white  dressed  doeskin. 

"  And  he  wept  —  the  plaid-man  !  and  cried  for  the  French 
gold !  and  said,  '  He  maunna  ride  at  a'  the  nicht !  He 
maunna  ride  —  he  maunna  gang  to  Talassee  wi'  the  French 
gowd  o'  saxty-twa !  Ohonari !  Ohonari !  He  maunna  ride 
at  a'  the  nicht.7  And  then  this  plaid-man  he  sobbed  much, 
and  straightway  said  to  himself  that  the  smoke  of  far-away 
burning  woods  hurt  his  eyes  —  when  it  is  because  he  is  a 
squaw-man  that  he  sheds  tears,  and  is  no  great  red  Capteny 
and  soldier.  And  does  he  not  wear  a  petticoat  every  day 
of  his  life,  like  the  woman  that  he  is?  He  sheds  tears! 
And  then  he  crept  out,  saying  all  the  time, '  Oh,  gude  God, 
he  maunna  ride  to  Talassee  —  he  maunna  ride  at  a'  the 
nicht !  7  And  I,  all  unseen,  followed  him  like  his  shadow, 
like  his  soul,  through  the  night  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain 
where  the  trading-path  skirts  Chilhowee,  and  there  he  struck 
a  flint  and  set  the  dry  leaves  afire,  and  then  with  a  lighted 
torch  he  ran  —  ran  like  a  deer  —  firing  the  woods  here, 
there,  everywhere  !  Two  Indians,  coming  from  a  hunt,  saw 
him,  but  he  gave  them  the  slip.  And  the  headmen  are  hav 
ing  the  woods  scoured  for  him.  And  I  —  I  lost  him  in  the 
night  —  for  he  ran  very  fast  I  " 


264  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

As  he  stood  listening  Everard  more  than  once  changed 
color,  and  finally  sat  down,  looking  very  grave. 

The  girl  with  only  a  momentary  pause  recommenced : 
"  And  then  I  knew  that  you  could  not  go  to  Talassee 
through  the  fiery  woods,  although  the  feast  was  made,  and 
the  headmen  waited,  and  many  were  to  dance,  and  I,  too, 
was  to  dance,  because  that  creature,  in  his  plaid  petticoat, 
said  you  had  his  French  gold.  Was  it  his,  forsooth  ?  I  do 
not  understand !  And  I  lost  him,  but  I  went  back  from 
the  mountain  to  Chilhowee  Town,  and  there  — oh,  joy  !  — 
there  he  stood  once  more  in  the  likeness  of  the  Ancient 
Warrior,  —  who  must  be  very  wroth,  if  there  ever  was  any 
Ancient  Warrior,  —  in  his  hunting-shirt  and  war-crown. 
And  softly,  very  softly,  like  the  mist  slipping  down  the 
mountain-side  I  crept  away  here,  and  left  him  there,  that 
the  great  red  Capteny  may  descend  upon  him,  and  capture 
him,  and  wreak  vengeance  upon  him,  and  break  his  great 
ugly  bones,  and  give  his  woman's  petticoat  to  the  dogs  to 
tear !  " 

"And  is  he  there  yet?"  demanded  Everard  eagerly. 
"  Is  he  unaware  that  he  is  discovered  ?  " 

Her  animated  diction  had  left  her  breathless  and  speech 
less.  She  could  only  bow  her  head  in  assent,  her  lustrous 
eyes  still  fiery,  her  lips  trembling  with  her  panting  breath. 

Everard  sprang  up,  tense  and  alert,  keen  and  quick  to 
see  his  error. 

"  You  shall  have  the  French  gold  as  a  reward  for  your 
story  if  I  find  my  tartan  man  as  you  say  at  Chilhowee.  Say 
nothing  to  any  one  till  I  send  you  the  French  gold  by  the 
hand  of  Yachtino,  the  chief  of  Chilhowee,"  he  said,  hoping 
that  thus  the  headmen  might  think  that  he  had  failed  to 
notice  the  significant  date  of  the  coinage  of  the  louis  d'ors, 
since  he  parted  so  lightly  from  th'em.  Thus  he  would  avoid 
further  dangerous  machinations,  for  of  course  the  pieces 
were  not  themselves  essential  to  the  validity  of  his  report. 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  265 

He  was  calling  out  hasty  orders  to  the  corporal  in  the 
pauses  of  his  sentences  to  her,  and  in  the  next  few  mo 
ments  he  rode  out  of  the  camp  at  the  head  of  a  dozen 
mounted  infantry -men,  their  red  coats  and  burnished  ac 
coutrements  showing  in  the  flames  still  rioting  along  the 
mountain-side. 

A  sense  of  dawn  was  presently  in  the  air,  —  the  vague, 
undiscriminated,  indescribable  perception  of  the  awakening 
of  nature.  It  was  not  night,  let  the  darkness  gloom  as  it 
might.  It  was  not  night,  let  the  light  delay  as  it  would. 
It  was  a  new  day,  and  every  nerve  acclaimed  the  fact  with 
a  revival  of  power.  Everard  met  this  new  day  in  emerging 
from  the  forests  near  Chilhowee  Town.  The  flames  were 
dying  out  upon  the  mountain.  A  thin  rain  was  falling,  and 
misty  moisture  enveloped  the  higher  slopes,  where  never 
theless  here  and  there  a  pennant  of  fire  waved  through  dull 
gray  involutions  of  vapor.  The  smell  of  charred  timber  was 
rife  on  the  air.  The  slate-tinted  sky,  the  darkly  looming  pur 
ple  mountains  of  the  distance,  the  black,  fire-swept  steeps 
closer  at  hand,  the  Indian  town  as  yet  silent  and  still,  the 
long,  level  stretches  of  the  pallid,  sere  cornfields  dimly 
striped  with  fine  lines  of  the  misting  rain,  —  all  were  visi 
ble  in  the  dull  gray  light  as  the  party  halted  on  the  verge 
of  the  woods.  Everard  dismounted  and  went  forth  alone 
into  the  cornfields. 

Calluni  Macllvesty,  facing  in  the  opposite  direction,  heard 
naught,  and  saw  naught  but  the  dreary  fire-smirched  scene 
before  him  and  the  rain  slowly  descending  with  a  steadiness 
which  promised  to  make  a  day  of  it.  He  was  too  exhausted 
to  think,  to  scheme  further.  He  only  knew  that  his  ruse 
had  succeeded ;  that  Everard  had  not  been  decoyed  to  a 
terrible  death ;  that  the  commissioners  and  their  military 
escort  would  march  to-day.  But  when  he  sought  to  forecast 
how  he  would  fare,  left  alone  and  helpless  in  the  country 
of  the  savage  Cherokees,  the  puzzling  problem  so  baffled 


266  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

his  tired  brain  —  without  food,  as  he  was,  aching  in  every 
muscle,  and  drenched  to  the  very  hones  by  the  persistent 
rain  —  that  he  would  fall  asleep,  still  standing  half  sup 
ported  by  the  pole,  his  war-bonnet  and  gourd  head  nodding 
after  a  fashion  which  must  have  revealed  the  sham  that 
he  was,  had  any  discerning  Indian  chanced  to  pass  that 
way.  He  dreamed  strange  things  in  these  meagre  snatches 
of  sleep,  —  so  strange  that  he  thought  he  was  still  dream 
ing  when,  recovering  his  balance  with  a  start  and  lifting  his 
heavy  eyelids,  he  saw  Lieutenant  Everard  striding  across 
the  wet  cornfield  and  heard  his  friendly  voice  calling,  "  Cal- 
lum  Bane  !  Callum  Bane  !  "  as  of  yore. 

Callum's  heart  plunged  and  then  stood  still,  as  he  per 
ceived  the  reality  of  his  impressions.  Before  he  could  de 
cide  upon  his  course  the  voice  sounded  anew,  with  a  queer 
tremor  in  it :  — 

"  For  God's  sake,  Callum  Bane,  don't  hide  from  me  !  I 
wouldn't  hurt  a  hair  of  your  head  for  all  the  Cherokee 
country ! " 

In  his  rough,  young-man  fashion  Everard  had  begun  to 
tear  off  the  Ancient  Warrior's  war-bonnet  and  gourd  vizard 
and  hunting-shirt  that,  long  subject  to  the  weather's  hard 
usage,  had  grown  ragged  and  rent  with  the  climbing  in  and 
out  of  it  by  the  stalwart  Highlander,  and  before  the  trans 
formation  was  complete  the  story  of  each  was  elicited.  As 
they  faced  each  other,  Callum,  conscience-stricken  at  the 
enormity  of  his  offense  and  overwhelmed  by  the  magna 
nimity  of  his  friend,  albeit  debtor  for  his  life,  in  forgiving 
him,  suddenly  burst  into  tears,  exclaiming,  "  Ohon !  Ohon ! 
I  wish  you  would  kill  me ! "  and  cast  himself,  in  all  his 
smoke-grimed,  rain-soaked  tartans,  into  the  arms  of  the 
smart  officer. 

Everard  chose  to  consider  the  blow  as  delivered  under 
the  extremity  of  provocation  and  in  the  quality  of  friend 
over  a  convivial  bowl,  and  therefore  his  own  personal  affair. 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  267 

He  was  willing  to  risk  the  carping  comment  of  his  mess, 
should  it  ever  come  to  their  knowledge  that  he  had  received 
this  insult  without  requital  from  a  man  who  had  saved  his 
life  with  so  much  forethought  and  ingenuity,  and  danger  to 
his  own,  —  a  man  who  deemed  he  would  have  profited 
immeasurably  by  the  officer's  destruction,  thus  escaping  the 
death  which  menaced  him,  or  an  ignominious  punishment 
more  terrible  to  him  than  death  itself. 

Everard,  however,  with  his  larger  experience  of  life  and 
wider  outlook,  saw  the  plot  differently,  perfectly  rounded 
and  in  its  entirety.  He  knew  that  the  Cherokees  would 
not  dare  to  lure  him  to  Talassee  had  they  not  some  innocu 
ous  device  by  which  to  account  for  his  disappearance  thence. 
Their  subtle  intelligence  had  doubtless  seized  upon  the  for 
tuitous  escape  of  the  Highlander  from  custody  as  a  thread 
to  work  into  their  web.  For  it  was  most  natural  that  to 
this  man,  who  had  offended  the  officer  and  had  cause  to  fear 
him,  should  be  attributed  his  murder  and  consequent  disap 
pearance.  The  Highlander  himself,  easily  found,  seized, 
and  destroyed  after  the  departure  of  the  troops  from  the 
country,  could  gainsay  naught. 

The  lieutenant's  military  conscience,  however,  would  not 
permit  him  to  forgive  so  easily  the  escape  from  the  guard 
house  and  the  lurking  in  hiding,  these  being  notorious  of 
fenses  of  evil  example  and  to  the  prejudice  of  good  order 
and  discipline.  For  not  even  the  corporal  who  had  had  the 
custody  of  the  prisoner  knew  that  Callum  had  struck  the 
officer,  and  the  only  witness,  Mr.  Taviston,  had  utterly  for 
gotten  the  blow  as  a  matter  of  no  consequence,  —  being 
frantic  with  excitement  concerning  a  new  species  of  Stuartia, 
here  found  and  at  that  time  unknown  to  any  catalogue,  but 
since  called  Stuartia  montana.  The  corporal  and  the  other 
soldiers  supposed  only  that  Callum  had  become  intoxicated 
in  the  society  of  his  superiors  and  had  drunkenly  and  fool 
ishly  contrived  a  troublesome  escape  from  custody.  For 


268  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

this  breach  of  discipline,  Callum  was  destined  to  undergo 
in  due  time  extra  guard  duty. 

Everard  was  explaining  this  to  him  as  being  a  part  of  his 
military  obligations  and  not  to  gratify  a  personal  grudge. 
"  You  are  still  under  arrest,  you  know,  Callum  Bane  !  " 
Everard  reminded  him. 

"  I  care  na,  I  care  na  —  onything  ye  will !  Only  I  maun 
hae  a  word  wi'  ye  the  noo,  lad." 

This  word,  albeit  he  was  faint  from  fatigue,  both  ahun- 
gered  and  athirst,  cold  and  shivering,  having  been  drenched 
for  hours  with  the  keen  chill  rain,  Callum  so  clamored  to 
be  allowed  to  speak  that  Everard  could  not  constrain  him  to 
wait  till  after  he  should  have  been  fed  and  warmed  and 
clad  anew. 

"  Na,  na  ! "  Callum  persisted,  waving  away  the  flask 
which  the  officer  pressed  upon  him,  but  still  clutching  his 
friendly  hand,  "  if  I  tak  but  ae  sup  ye  wad  say  I  am  drunk 
when  ye  hear  what  I  hae  to  tell  ye !  "  He  paused  for  a 
moment  to  add  weight  to  his  words.  "  I  hae  seen  that 
Frenchman  wha  hae  made  sic  clavers  an'  turmoil  amang  the 
Cherokees." 

"  Where  ?  when  ?  "  Everard  asked  breathlessly,  his  face 
suddenly  grave. 

Callum  pointed  down  at  the  Ancient  Warrior  lying  at  his 
feet  in  all  the  dreary  dislocations  of  disillusionment,  —  the 
tattered,  befringed  garments,  the  quaintly  painted  gourd 
head,  with  its  ghastly  effect  of  decapitation,  its  glorious  war- 
bonnet  bedraggled  and  forlorn.  "  When  I  was  that  daft 
gomeril,  —  that  big  Injun,"  he  replied. 

"  A  white  man  ?  " 

Callum  nodded  and  leaned  against  the  officer.  He  could 
hardly  stand.  He  felt  too  weak  almost  to  speak,  unless 
indeed  he  must. 

"  A  Frenchman,  Callum  Bane  ?  "  Everard  asked  again, 
vaguely  incredulous.  "  How  did  you  know  he  was  French  ?  " 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  269 

"  By  the  lingo,  man  !  "  said  Callum  impatiently. 

"  Did  he  speak  to  you  ? "  demanded  Everard,  looking 
keenly  into  the  Highlander's  pale  face,  all  wet  and  shining 
with  the  rain. 

In  the  mists  on  one  side  were  vaguely  glimpsed  the  tall 
cornstalks  of  the  far-stretching  fields,  all  writhen  and  bent 
by  the  wind,  and  with  the  gleams  of  sleet  on  their  sere,  pallid 
blades,  but  despite  their  motion  he  was  aware  that  among 
them  there  were  other  tall,  befringed,  betasseled  figures 
not  dissimilar,  something  too  distant  for  recognition,  where 
doubtless  the  ever  wily  Indians  were  watching  the  confer 
ence.  At  the  edge  of  the  woods  on  the  other  side  of  the 
clearing  stood  the  mounted  detail  of  English  soldiers,  the 
glimmer  of  the  sad  gray  day  flashing  back  with  a  live,  alert 
glitter  from  the  burnished  steel  of  their  arms  and  their  scar 
let  coats,  all  quick  to  note  the  fraternal,  familiar  attitude  of 
the  officer  and  soldier,  and  internally  to  comment  on  this 
condescension,  which  had  already  resulted  in  a  breach  of  dis 
cipline  and  threatened  continued  insubordination. 

"  Did  the  Frenchy  speak  to  me  ?  Na  !  I  was  that  big 
Injun,  I  tell  ye !  "  pointing  at  the  prideful  gourd  face  now 
staring  up  at  them  from  among  the  straw.  "  Na !  nane 
minted  a  word  at  me,  except  yon  ageya,  —  the  Injun  lass 
ye  know,  —  an7  she  ca'  me  '  Gude-sire  ! '  Gude-sire  !  "  Cal 
lum  laughed  dreamily,  then  suddenly  put  his  hand  up  to 
his  head,  in  the  effort  to  recall  the  importance  of  the  dis 
closure. 

"  A  nip  of  brandy  now,  Callum/7  —  the  officer  pressed  the 
flask,  eager  for  the  detail,  —  "and  then  you'll  remember." 

"I  winna  taste  it,"  Callum  rejoined  sternly,  "for  then 
ye  '11  say  I  was  drunk  an'  telled  ye  but  idle  clavers.  What 's 
your  wull  ?  "  he  added,  as  if  bewildered. 

"  How  do  you  know  the  man  is  French  ?  "  demanded 
Everard. 

"  He  spoke  in  French/'  replied  Callum. 


270  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

"  To  the  Indians  ?  " 

"  He  spoke  in  Cherokee  to  the  Injuns,  and  then  to  him- 
seP  in  French,"  responded  Callum  definitely. 

Everard  was  silent  for  a  moment.  Important  interests 
of  the  government,  the  peace  of  the  colonies,  the  policy  of 
the  cession  of  land,  the  possible  permanent  repulse  of  the 
French,  and  on  the  other  hand  the  triumphant  enormous 
extension  of  the  French  empire  in  America  hung  upon  this 
slight  incident.  Therefore  to  make  sure,  to  prevent  the 
possibility  of  deception  or  mistake,  he  asked,  thinking  the 
words  that  Callum  had  heard  might  have  other  signification, 
"  What  did  he  say,  Callum  ?  What  did  he  say  to  him 
self  ?  " 

"  Tong  pee  per  lee.  A  bong  char  bong  rar"  Callum 
solemnly  repeated. 

Everard  burst  out  laughing  hysterically.  He  was  con 
vinced.  He  was  all  tremulous  at  the  momentous  discovery 
that  it  had  chanced  to  one  of  his  command  to  make,  eager, 
nay  frenzied,  to  take  instant  advantage  of  it ;  yet  the  accent 
of  the  solemn  Highlander,  to  which  the  French  of  the  Strat- 
ford-atte-Bowe  variety  would  have  had  an  eminently  Gallic 
tang,  outmastered  his  risibles,  and  he  laughed  with  that  cu 
rious  duality  of  entity  when  he  was  never  so  serious  before 
in  his  life. 

The  first  duty,  however,  in  putting  into  execution  the 
plan  which  had  instantly  shaped  itself  in  his  mind,  with  a 
dozen  variant  details,  was  to  take  such  order  with  the  High 
land  soldier  as  should  restore  him  to  his  normal  mental 
and  physical  fitness.  He  shouted  for  aid  to  the  soldiers, 
and  presently  Callum,  mounted  on  a  horse  behind  one  of 
them,  —  for  he  was  in  no  condition  to  guide  the  animal  or 
even  to  retain  his  posture,  save  for  a  horse  girth  passed 
around  his  waist  and  the  body  of  the  man  in  the  saddle,  — 
was  escorted  back  to  camp,  and  still  under  arrest,  bestowed 
in  the  snug  winter-house  devoted  to  the  uses  of  a  military 


A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER  271 

prison.  There  was  no  lack  of  hot  lotions  applied  exter 
nally  and  internally,  and  good  food  and  warm  clothing ;  but 
the  surgeon  in  attendance  upon  the  party  reported  a  fever, 
with  a  touch  of  delirium  and  a  "  sair  hoast,"  as  the  patient 
himself  described  the  measure  of  cold  that  he  had  caught. 

To  the  surprise  of  all  the  force  and  the  suspicious  dismay 
of  the  Indians,  the  return  to  Charlestown  was  unaccountably 
delayed.  The  soldiers,  wearying  of  their  long  inaction,  the 
monotony  of  life  in  the  Indian  country,  hampered  as  they 
were  by  the  many  unusual  restrictions  imposed  upon  con 
duct  and  camp  to  avoid  all  possible  cause  for  clashes  with 
the  young  Indian  braves,  had  been  in  high  spirits  at  the 
prospect  of  a  speedy  change,  and  their  hopes  were  suddenly 
dashed  by  the  countermanding  of  the  orders  to  march. 
The  commissariat  fell  into  gloom,  and  as  far  as  they  dared 
remonstrated  with  the  commander,  predicting  a  famine  ere 
Charlestown  could  be  reached  ;  and  the  quartermaster  ser 
geant  and  his  subordinates  of  the  baggage  contingent,  fore 
seeing  all  the  undoing  of  the  more  permanent  arrangements 
of  the  baggage  train,  felt  that  never  again  could  such  tri 
umphs  of  transportation  be  achieved  —  the  stowage  of  large 
and  unwieldy  commodities  in  small  compass,  multum  in 
parvo  —  as  a  lucky  inspiration  in  packing  had  permitted 
in  this  instance. 

Moreover,  the  fine  days  seemed  gone.  The  weather  of 
fered  an  incalculable  menace.  Already  the  air  was  full  of 
the  misting  autumnal  rains,  and  the  many  turbulent  rivers  of 
the  country  would  soon  be  out  of  their  channels  beyond 
even  the  deep  crag-girt  banks,  rendering  fording  impossi 
ble  and  ferriage  dangerous.  Even  snows  might  fall,  early 
though  it  was  in  the  season.  In  fact,  one  or  two  domes  of 
the  Great  Smoky  Range  already  showed  glittering  white 
against  an  ominous  slate-tinted  sky,  as  the  soft,  gauzy  tissues 
of  the  mists  parted  before  them,  and  again  impenetrably 
veiled  those  frigid  altitudes. 


272  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

The  commissioners  themselves  had  grown  obviously  dis 
affected  and  doubtful ;  they  were  disposed  to  remonstrate, 
and  one  of  them  reproachfully  coughed  from  time  to  time, 
occasionally  from  genuine  affection  and  again  from  patent 
affectation.  Only  the  meteorologic  and  botanic  Mr.  Taviston 
welcomed  the  lengthened  opportunity,  and  since  the  flowers 
had  all  fallen  under  the  repeated  frosts  and  an  unseasonable 
nipping  freeze,  he  found  a  solace  in  investigating  the  climate 
itself,  going  about,  a  comfort  to  himself,  and  eke  to  say  a 
wellspring  of  joy  to  others,  with  an  umbrella  above  his 
head,  to  the  ribs  of  which  was  suspended  a  thermometer  at 
the  height  of  his  nose,  taking  acute  scientific  notes  of  the 
extraordinary  variability  of  the  temperature  and  the  swift 
fickleness  of  the  atmospheric  changes.  He  was  even  dis 
posed  to  climb  the  mountains  to  the  snow  line,  to  press  his 
inquiries  among  the  white  domes  of  the  great  range,  accom 
panied  only  by  an  Indian  guide  ;  but  the  stern  interdiction 
of  this  enterprise  by  the  commander  precluded  his  wander 
ing  so  far  afield,  and  he  was  compelled  to  content  himself 
with  such  specimens  of  weather  as  he  could  collate  nearer 
at  hand. 

To  the  prevalent  dissatisfaction  Lieutenant  Everard  ac 
corded  only  the  most  casual  attention,  obviously  preoccupied, 
intent  on  his  own  thoughts,  sternly  determined,  but  sharing 
his  conclusions  with  no  adviser. 

The  civilians  of  the  party  naturally  distrusted  these  in 
dicia  of  changes  of  moment  evidently  impending,  and  felt 
some  qualms  as  to  his  comparative  youth  and  heady  traits, 
some  curiosity  as  to  possible  details  of  his  instructions  to 
which  it  might  be  they  were  not  privy,  some  helpless  anx 
iety  lest  for  reasons  satisfactory  to  himself,  which  they 
could  not  divine,  he  should  venture  to  deviate  from  his 
orders.  The  commissioners  were  in  the  nature  of  things 
more  or  less  men  of  consequence,  accustomed  to  command, 
and  to  the  habit  of  determining  and  shaping  their  own 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  273 

course  in  life  as  the  eventuation  of  circumstance  should 
seem  to  require.  They  had  not  had  the  military  training 
to  an  unquestioning  obedience,  the  suppression  of  natural 
curiosity,  the  relinquishment  of  all  responsibility  and  indi 
vidual  identity,  in  the  existence  of  a  corporate  body,  subject 
to  the  volition  of  a  superior.  They  chafed  in  the  sense  of 
helplessness,  and  from  time  to  time  eyed  him  greedily  in 
hopes  of  catching  from  his  manner  some  intimation  as  to 
his  ultimate  plans.  In  response  to  more  open  expressions 
of  curiosity,  he  had  flatly  refused  to  gratify  it,  and  the 
courtesy  and  apparent  consideration  in  his  phrase  made  him 
seem  only  the  more  inscrutable. 

"  You  will  pardon  me,  I  am  sure,  but  Gad,  sir,  my  duty 
does  not  permit  me  to  be  explicit.  The  march  is  postponed, 
but  you  will  not  be  required  to  move  without  information," 
he  replied  suavely,  but  with  a  flash  of  the  eye  which  inti 
mated  that  he  would  tell  them  when  he  could  no  longer 
avoid  it,  and  when  all  the  rest  of  the  world  must  know. 

While  the  camp  thus  settled  down  to  its  former  routine, 
grumbling  and  speculating  variously  as  to  the  causes  that 
had  necessitated  the  countermanding  of  the  orders  to  march, 
the  Cherokees  were  alarmed  for  the  interests  of  the  projected 
cession  of  land.  Their  earlier  fears  had  been  quieted  in 
great  measure  by  the  recovery  of  the  French  gold,  the  louis 
d'ors  of  the  coinage  of  the  current  year,  thus  falling  readily 
into  the  trap  which  Everard  had  warily  set  for  them. 
They  concluded  that  since  he  had  given  the  gold  pieces  so 
casually  to  the  Indian  girl  as  a  reward  for  her  detection  of 
his  runagate  soldier  he  had  not  noticed  the  date  with  its 
cogent  significance,  having  them  so  short  a  time  in  his  posses 
sion.  Certainly  it  was  great  munificence,  but  this  was  the 
more  easily  accounted  for  as  the  louis  d'ors  really  belonged 
to  another  man,  and  the  officer  seemed  generous  without 
loss,  for  the  Cherokees  did  not  understand  that  their  value 
must  needs  be  returned  to  Eachin  MacEachin.  As  the  In- 


274  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

dians  were  not  admitted  familiarly  within  the  camp,  and  the 
soldiers  were  not  free  to  wander  without,  there  could  be 
only  futile  surmises  as  to  the  reasons  for  the  postponement 
of  the  march.  Secret  observations  of  the  camp  taken  from 
the  river  and  the  opposite  bank  intimated  much  activity 
among  the  farriers.  Perhaps  the  horses  were  all  to  be 
reshod.  But  surely  such  a  necessity  could  not  be  in  the 
nature  of  a  surprise  to  the  Capteny  Gigagei.  Another  day 
ensued  a  great  overhauling  of  the  baggage  for  clothing  of 
heavier  weight,  in  anticipation  of  severe  weather.  The  com 
missioners  bargained  with  the  Indians  for  some  furs  fash 
ioned  into  match-coats,  and  the  lieutenant  himself,  being 
obliged  to  wear  the  hated  British  uniform,  ordered  blankets 
of  the  fine  dressed  otter  and  panther  skins,  for  which  he 
paid  in  English  guineas  :  he  had  no  more  louis  d'ors.  The 
postponement  gradually  came  to  be  accepted  as  the  result  of 
the  sudden  unseasonable  spell  of  cold  weather. 

Therefore  it  fell  like  a  thunderclap  upon  the  headmen, 
when  suddenly  one  day  Lieutenant  Everard  took  advan 
tage  of  a  personal  visit  which  the  great  chief  Tanaesto  was 
making  to  him  in  his  tent,  to  declare  that  he  had  certain 
knowledge  that  the  Cherokees  harbored  amongst  them  a 
Frenchman  who  sought  to  spirit  them  up  against  the  British 
government,  despite  the  fact  that  they  had  so  lately  firmly 
shaken  hands  anew  with  it.  He  protested  that  unless  they 
instantly  surrendered  to  him  this  miscreant,  chargeable  with 
he  knew  not  how  many  of  the  crimes  laid  at  their  door, 
he  would  report  to  the  royal  governor  the  fact  that  he  had 
ascertained  his  presence  here  in  the  heart  of  the  Cherokee 
country,  and  this  would  annul  the  privileges  they  expected 
to  enjoy  under  the  treaty  thus  rendered  void,  and  destroy 
the  possibility  of  the  cession  itself. 

But  for  that  single  phrase,  but  for  the  interests  dependent 
upon  the  cession,  but  for  the  fact  that  this  purchase  money 
for  the  lands  would  enable  the  Cherokees  to  secure  the  mu- 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  275 

nitions  of  war  to  wrench  not  only  this  limited  territory  but 
their  whole  country  from  the  encroaching  British  grasp,  as 
well  as  sustain  them  in  a  certain  independence  in  their  rela 
tions  with  their  expected  French  allies,  —  but  for  these  obvi 
ous  dictates  of  policy,  the  commissioners'  train  and  military 
escort  would  have  been  set  upon  by  unnumbered  hundreds 
and  destroyed  in  the  instant. 

Even  as  it  was,  however,  their  safety  was  in  a  great  part 
assured  by  the  fact  that  this  episode  took  place  only  within 
the  knowledge  of  the  wily  chiefs.  The  populace  —  those 
"  mad  young  men,"  so  difficult  to  restrain,  whose  impetu 
osity  so  often  cost  the  nation  dear  —  could  not  have  been 
held  back  had  this  demand  been  suddenly  publicly  urged. 
And  indeed  the  chiefs  themselves  were  between  two  fires ; 
for  if  aught  should  befall  the  French  officer  through  their 
pusillanimity  or  treachery,  it  was  obvious  they  could  hope 
for  no  further  aid  from  the  great  French  king,  without 
which  they  could  not  save  their  national  existence. 

Admire  the  collected  Tanaesto's  aplomb!  Without  one 
moment's  hesitation  he  denied  the  accusation,  —  utterly  obli 
vious  of  the  future,  —  so  definitely,  so  instantly,  that  Ever- 
ard  himself,  closeted  in  his  tent  with  three  or  four  Indians 
who  had  accompanied  Tanaesto,  felt  a  momentary  doubt. 
Could  Callum  have  been  dreaming  ?  —  the  vision  of  the 
Frenchman  only  a  figment  of  the  fever  then  laying  hold 
upon  him,  the  words  an  echo  ?  —  some  reminiscence  sound 
ing  anew  in  his  delirium  ? 

"  But  you  have  a  white  man,  a  Frenchman,  here  in  the 
nation,"  Everard  sternly  persisted. 

"  A  white  man  in  the  nation  ?  Several  here  and  there 
in  the  lower  towns.  Oh,  yes,  the  Capteny  says  the  gracious 
truth.  But  these  are  English  or  Scotch,  never  French. 
Some  there  are  who  like  the  Cherokee  methods  and  settle 
in  the  tribe.  But  here  in  the  Overhill  towns  only  one 
white  man,  an  Englishman  —  that  is  to  say,  a  Virginian." 


276  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

Everard,  staring  fixedly  at  Tanaesto,  shook  his  head,  and 
the  Indian  interpreter  mechanically  repeated  the  gesture,  as 
if  the  parties  for  whom  he  served  as  a  means  of  communica 
tion  were  blind  as  well  as  deaf  to  all  but  him. 

Most  unlikely  did  Everard  consider  it  that  an  English 
man  would  dare  to  linger  here  alone  in  the  present  dis 
organized  state  of  the  Cherokee  country  and  the  inflamed 
public  sentiment  against  the  British. 

"  This  man  —  who  I  fear  is  no  Englishman  —  sojourned 
in  Moy  Toy's  town  of  Great  Tellico,"  Everard  persisted. 
"  This  I  know.  The  great  chief  will  perceive  there  are  no 
limits  to  my  knowledge." 

With  this  corollary,  confirmatory  of  his  proposition,  the 
Indians  hardly  dared  to  further  deny.  A  sudden  stillness 
ensued ;  and  this  desperate  silence,  long  unbroken,  was  an 
invisible  appeal  one  to  the  others,  each  waiting  for  some 
intrepid  invention  of  some  one  else  that  might  serve  to 
rescue  the  situation. 

Everard  smiled  grimly  as  his  sarcastic  eyes  traveled  the 
rounds  from  one  confused,  downcast  face  to  the  other. 
"  Since  he  is  a  Virginian,  as  you  say,  an  Englishman  so 
far,  I  should  be  glad  to  see  him,"  persisted  Everard,  relish 
ing  their  discomfort.  "  I  should  not  like  it  to  be  said  that 
I  left  an  only  countryman  in  this  remote  wilderness  with 
out  an  effort  to  exchange  a  word  with  him,  a  homelike 
greeting." 

"  If  he  is  now  at  Great  Tellico,  I  know  not ;  it  has  been 
long  since  I  saw  him,"  Tanaesto  qualified.  Then  realizing 
that  this  belated  negation  could  not  nullify  all  that  had 
gone  before,  "  Doubtless  he  will  be  glad  to  take  you  by  the 
hand,"  he  concluded  falteringly. 

"  Doubtless.  I  shall  do  myself  the  honor  to  wait  upon 
him  there,  and  shall  also  take  this  occasion  to  pay  my  re 
spects  to  the  great  Moy  Toy." 

Everard  smiled  sardonically,  grimly  triumphant,  for  the 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  277 

leave-taking  of  the  graceful,  ceremonious  Indians  was  like 
the  hasty  scuttling  away  of  a  group  of  culprits  evading  the 
clutch  of  custody. 

The  camp  had  been  hastily  broken ;  all  was  now  gleeful 
stir  and  activity.  Everard  had  waited  long,  but  he  had 
reached  the  limit  of  his  patience  and  the  necessity  to  exer 
cise  it  simultaneously.  Macllvesty  was  sufficiently  recov 
ered  to  have  regained  the  full  use  of  his  faculties,  and  he 
depended  upon  the  Highlander's  identification  of  the  man, 
whom  he  had  seen  in  familiar  conversation  with  the  Indians 
at  one  of  their  most  secret  ceremonies,  speaking  Cherokee 
to  them  and  French  in  soliloquy.  Everard  would  take  no 
substitute  for  this  man  !  Lest  some  dull  under-trader,  some 
runaway  apprentice,  finding  it  easier  to  turn  Cherokee  than 
work  at  a  trade  in  the  colonies,  be  palmed  off  on  him  in 
lieu  of  this  forked-tongued  schemer,  he  had  awaited  the 
Highlander's  recovery,  despite  his  impatience.  He  realized 
that  should  he  miss  his  grip  at  the  opportune  moment  the 
chance  would  be  gone  and  forever.  He  would  confront  Cal- 
lum  Macllvesty  with  this  sojourner  at  Tellico  whom  he 
doubted  not  to  be  the  French  emissary  who  had  occasioned 
a  world  of  trouble  in  readjusting  the  Cherokees  on  their 
former  basis  with  the  British  government.  Unless  oppor 
tunity  should  prove  amazingly  elusive,  he  would  arrest  this 
man  and  carry  him  to  Charlestown,  where  the  consideration 
of  the  problems  which  he  embodied  could  be  shifted  upon 
those  more  qualified  to  undertake  it,  the  colonial  diplomats. 

Everard' s  determination  to  proceed  further  into  the  Chero 
kee  country  necessitated  the  detail  of  some  portion  of  his 
plan  to  the  commissioners  whom  he  must  needs  drag  with 
him,  since  his  force  was  too  slight  to  divide,  and  he  could 
not  leave  them  without  a  guard  at  loco.  Though  firm  as 
adamant  and  steeled  against  any  remonstrance,  he  had 
dreaded  their  efforts  to  deter  him,  their  insistence  that  he 
was  transcending  his  instructions,  that  he  was  merely  the 


278  A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

commander  of  their  bodyguard,  and  required  to  act  only  in 
the  interests  of  the  cession.  The  fluttered  squawking  of 
the  botanist,  the  deep  basso-profundo  rumble  of  the  com 
missioner  whose  fad  was  geology,  the  appeal  to  his  official 
conscience  and  his  oath  by  the  diplomat  proper,  the  politi 
cian,  the  piercing  fife-like  note  of  the  surveyor's  voice  in 
protest,  —  all  sounded  coherently  in  his  imagination  long 
before  he  made  the  disclosure,  and  sooth  to  say,  sounded 
nowhere  else.  For  the  "  gentlemanly  old  ladies  "  showed 
unexpected  mettle ;  they  applauded  his  determination,  be 
littled  the  possible  danger  they  might  incur,  commended 
his  discretion,  and  urged  the  instant  setting  forward  of  the 
force  before  the  man  could  be  spirited  away  and  the  Indians 
make  head  in  their  schemes  to  conceal  all  evidences  of  his 
identity  and  machinations. 


XIV 

LAROCHE,  however,  as  far  as  his  safety  was  concerned, 
was  more  secure  at  Tellico  Great  than  he  could  have  been 
elsewhere,  and  he  appreciated  this,  for  both  Moy  Toy  and 
he  had  been  speedily  advised  of  the  untoward  discovery  of 
the  secret  of  his  presence  here  and  the  lame  and  futile  effort 
of  Tanaesto  to  account  for  it  innocuously.  Where  the 
Cherokees  were  in  force,  as  in  one  of  the  greater  "  mother 
towns,"  he  could  more  effectually  claim  the  national  protec 
tion  than  if,  seeking  refuge  in  flight,  he  should  be  appre 
hended  in  some  secluded  outlying  region  where  only  a  few 
scattered  tribesmen  would  be  receptive  to  his  appeal.  There 
fore  at  Tellico  he  determined  to  stand  his  ground,  albeit  he 
doubted  both  the  will  and  the  capacity  of  the  Indians  to  hold 
out  against  the  demand  of  the  English  officer.  He  argued 
that  with  so  small  a  force  as  the  escort  of  the  commissioners, 
coercion  was  manifestly  not  contemplated,  and  the  British 
commander  was  risking  the  dangers  of  the  Indian  country, 
disaffected  though  it  was,  with  no  protection  save  the  osten 
sible  comity  of  the  already  jeopardized  treaty.  Unassisted 
reason  and  logic  were  hardly  to  be  relied  upon  in  Indian 
negotiation.  Reproaches  for  a  broken  faith  needs  an  unim 
peachable  counter-record  to  render  them  practicable.  Laroche 
feared,  as  the  last  resource,  bribes,  large,  tempting,  irresistible. 

At  that  moment  his  stanch  scheme  of  empire,  rebuilt  on 
the  ruins  of  a  score  of  fantastic  projections  of  old,  braced 
and  held  to  interdependent  cohesion  in  a  thousand  details, 
seemed  to  him  also  a  mere  phantasm,  the  immaterial  out 
line  of  the  functions  of  a  state,  a  spectre  of  power,  to  dis- 


280  A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

solve  into  nullity  at  the  first  cockcrow  of  the  lordly  realities 
of  established  rule.  He  had  but  expended  himself,  his 
time,  his  efforts,  his  liberty,  it  might  even  be  his  life  itself, 
that  the  crafty  Moy  Toy  should  have  the  opportunity  of 
driving  a  more  thrifty  bargain  with  the  British  interest  be 
cause  of  the  formidable  character  of  the  threatened  defec 
tion  ;  or  mayhap,  indeed,  only  for  the  sake  of  a  personal 
gift,  —  a  finer  rifle,  or  a  trifle  of  embroidered  and  gold-laced 
suits  of  apparel,  —  he  would  consent  to  bring  anew  the  na 
tion  under  British  domination  until  such  time  as  the  yoke 
grew  cumbersome  to  his  fitful  ambition  and  he  was  minded 
to  throw  it  off  again. 

Naturally  Moy  Toy  could  not  read  these  thoughts  in  the 
face  of  his  friend,  but  he  marked  his  changing  color  and 
partly  interpreted  his  agitation.  Because  of  the  stress  of 
his  religion,  —  a  very  queer  and  inconvenient  restriction  the 
savage  deemed  it,  —  never  would  Laroche  lift  a  weapon 
against  his  fellow  man,  except  in  legitimate  warfare.  And 
yet  he  was  eminently  a  proper  man,  to  use  the  language  of 
the  day,  light,  active,  with  muscles  like  steel  wire  and  strong 
with  a  latent  staying  power.  When  personally  threatened 
he  would  offer  no  aggression,  save  in  self-defense,  and  even 
now,  in  this  stress  of  realized  jeopardy,  he  insisted  with  all 
his  arts  of  persuasion  that  Moy  Toy  should  give  over  the  idea 
of  a  massacre  of  the  advancing  party,  with  several  delecta 
ble  items  of  the  horrors  of  a  surprise  and  friendly  lure  to 
merge  at  last  into  fierce  and  wholesale  murder,  which  the 
chief  planned  with  many  a  sly  and  furtive  smile,  and  which 
met  with  open  and  applausive  assent  from  his  councilors 
assembled. 

"  They  come  in  peace,  relying  on  your  honor ;  let  them 
go  in  peace,' '  urged  Laroche,  as  in  duty  bound,  from  the 
standpoint  of  soldier,  Christian,  and  patriot. 

"  They  have  not  my  honor  in  their  keeping/'  Moy  Toy 
lowered.  "  I  do  not  love  your  ugly  religion  !  " 


A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER  281 

Nevertheless,  he  suffered  himself  to  be  gainsaid  in  the 
paramount  interests  of  the  land  cession,  and  Laroche  felt  at 
the  end  of  all  things. 

If  Moy  Toy  were  to  have  no  fun  out  of  the  rash  adven 
ture  of  the  embassy,  the  embassy  would  certainly  profit  at 
the  expense  of  the  interloper.  He  it  was  who  must  suffer 
between  the  two.  He  knew  that  this  sudden  unforeseen 
demonstration  against  him  personally  was  obviously  fraught 
with  too  great  danger  to  the  government's  commissioners  for 
the  military  commander  of  the  escort  to  lightly  undertake 
it  or  to  relinquish  it  without  advantage.  Nothing  less  could 
it  portend  than  the  arrest  of  the  French  emissary  and  his 
removal  in  the  British  interest  from  the  Cherokee  country. 
Laroche's  experimental  resourceful  mind  became  suddenly 
blank  in  the  contemplation  of  the  vista  of  long  days,  nay 
years,  in  prison,  at  the  will  of  a  British  colonial  magnate 
or  on  a  quibble  of  British  law.  And  then  this  suggestion 
opened  a  new  speculation.  What  if,  being  without  his  uni 
form,  without  command,  in  the  discharge  of  no  specific  mili 
tary  duty,  he  should  be  held  as  a  spy  or  as  a  civil  prisoner, 
and  responsible  for  certain  murders  which  the  Cherokees 
had  committed  on  British  subjects  either  with  the  sanction 
of  Moy  Toy  or  on  that  system  of  personal  individual  war 
fare  which  in  modern  civilized  times  is  called  feud,  and 
which  the  Cherokee  autonomy  countenanced.  Brave  though 
his  spirit  was,  Laroche  quailed  at  the  imputed  instigation  of 
these  horrors  which  he  had  sought  to  avert  and  had  openly 
condemned  at  much  personal  risk. 

He  was  keenly  reminiscent  of  the  day  when  a  previous 
expedition  had  arrived  at  the  town  of  Tellico  Great  and 
he  had  then  been  of  the  embassy.  With  that  strange  dual 
capacity  of  the  mind,  albeit  his  every  faculty  might  seem 
otherwise  absorbed,  he  was  conscious  of  all  the  details  of  the 
event  which  he  now  watched  as  it  were  from  the  inside, 
—  the  placing  of  the  appurtenances  of  the  town  to  the  best 


282  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

advantage,  the  gathering  of  the  warriors  and  braves,  as  well 
as  women  and  children,  arrayed  each  in  the  finest  toggery. 
The  "  beloved  square  "  had  been  swept  and  resanded,  the 
public  buildings  were  painted  anew.  There  in  each  of  the 
four  open,  piazza-like  cabins  the  incumbents  of  the  high  muni 
cipal  offices  were  ranged  on  the  tiers  of  seats  in  the  wonted 
order  of  their  relative  rank,  —  the  medicine  and  religious 
men,  the  war-captains,  the  aged  councilors,  and  Moy  Toy 
in  the  place  of  chief.  Always  an  impressive  figure,  he  had 
assumed  an  added  dignity  in  the  doubly  conferred  imperial 
title,  from  both  British  and  French  powers,10  superimposed 
upon  his  hereditary  municipal  chieftaincy,  though  the  latter 
distinction  was  the  only  point  of  supremacy  in  which  the 
Cherokee  nation  itself  now  acquiesced.  He  sat  in  his  place 
upon  the  white  divan,  his  iridescent  feather-woven  mantle 
glittering  in  the  sun,  his  polled  head  plumed  with  eagle 
quills,  about  his  neck  a  single  strand  of  those  glossy  fresh 
water  Tennessee  pearls,  almost  as  large  as  filberts,  a  size 
then  rare,  but  even  yet  taken  occasionally  from  the  Unio 
margaritiferus  of  our  sandy  river,  banks.  A  great  bead, 
which  he  valued  far  more,  wrought  painfully  with  years  of 
labor  from  the  conch  shell,  ivory -like  in  its  polish  and  tint, 
was  suspended  in  the  middle  of  his  forehead.  His  guard  of 
immediately  attendant  warriors  was  about  him,  and  Laroche 
sat  at  his  side. 

Arrayed  too  in  aboriginal  splendor  was  the  French  offi 
cer.  This  was  hardly  bravado  on  his  part,  for  he  had  long 
ago  lost  sight  of  that  uniform  which  he  had  worn  to  Great 
Tellico,  for  Moy  Toy  had  sequestered  it,  lest  it  remind  him 
in  some  inscrutable  way  of  those  events  when  he  had  so 
nearly  lost  his  life  at  the  stake,  and  thus  by  exciting  resent 
ment  diminish  his  utility  to  the  nation.  This  garb  would 
scarcely  have  much  commended  him  to  the  Englishman 
whose  advent  he  momently  expected,  but  with  that  acute 
Gallic  self-consciousness  he  winced  from  the  anticipated 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  283 

wonder  at  his  attire,  averse  yet  scornful.  But  Moy  Toy  was 
not  to  be  withstood,  and  the  adopted  tribesman  was  nearly 
as  fine  as  the  prince.  He  too  wore  a  necklace  of  pearls, 
that  set  off  the  fairer  tints  of  his  throat  with  less  barbaric 
effect  than  the  Indian's  own  bauble.  His  face  was  fantas 
tically  streaked  with  paint,  yet  its  keen  lines  and  the  fine 
expressiveness  of  his  eyes  were  definitely  asserted.  His 
trim  figure  was  encased  in  a  shirt  and  leggings  of  white 
dressed  doeskin  with  long  fringes  wrought  with  scarlet 
feathers ;  his  buskins  were  dyed  scarlet,  and  he  wore  scarlet 
feathers  mounted  high  on  his  blond  hair.  It  seemed  to  him 
now,  as  he  sat  silent  thus  and  waited,  that  the  agonies  of  sus 
pense  were  decreed  to  him  as  a  portion.  He  could  hear  the 
beating  of  his  heart  in  the  absolute  stillness  of  the  assemblage 
as,  with  the  stoicism  of  Indian  patience  and  endurance,  the 
Cherokees,  motionless  and  silent,  awaited  the  appearance  of 
the  commissioners'  party. 

The  bland  blue  sky  seemed  waiting  too,  so  still  it  was. 
Here  and  there  were  cloud  masses  of  a  dazzling,  whiteness 
and  variant  density  and  depth  of  tone,  as  if  to  illustrate  the 
infinite  scope  of  the  possible  interpretations  of  this  tint,  tech 
nically  an  absence  of  color.  Bright  as  they  were,  as  they 
swung  motionless  in  the  sunlit  air,  wherever  their  shadows 
fell  on  the  Velvet  azure  of  the  distant  mountains  the  hue  deep 
ened  and  dulled  to  a  violet,  subdued  as  with  the  expunging 
of  light.  The  snow  on  the  mountain  domes  near  at  hand 
showed  a  sharp  contrast  to  the  red  and  yellow  and  brown 
of  the  brilliant  leafage  still  on  the  steep  slope  below.  The 
haze  in  the  intermediate  valleys  was  like  a  silver  gauze  — 
of  a  consistency  that  suggested  a  fabric.  Even  as  close  as 
the  willows  along  the  river  bank  it  preserved  this  illusion, 
and  now  veiled  them  from  sight  and  now  withdrew,  reveal 
ing  their  slim  idyllic  wands,  all  leafless  and  whitely  frosted 
and  trembling  in  some  imperceptible  pulsation  of  the  cur 
rents  of  the  air.  Many  a  bare  bough  with  the  distinctness 


284  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

of  some  fine  etching  was  reflected  in  the  shimmering  water, 
here  a  smooth  and  silver  expanse,  and  here  a  rippling  steely 
sheen.  Upon  its  surface  a  flock  of  swans,  glittering  white 
in  the  sunshine,  floated  into  view,  and  then  like  a  fantasy 
drifted  suddenly  into  the  invisibilities  of  the  mist  and  the 
shadow.  Far  away  the  booming  note  of  a  herd  of  buffaloes 
came  to  the  ear  and  was  silent,  and  again  one  could  not  so 
much  as  hear  the  throng  of  waiting  Cherokees  draw  a  breath. 
It  might  seem  that  a  spell  had  fallen  upon  the  town,  the 
silent  assemblage,  the  loitering  clouds,  the  still  mountains, 
and  that  they  had  thus  stood  waiting  for  unnumbered  ages 
till  some  magic  sound  should  break  their  bonds. 

It  came  suddenly.  The  dreaming  swans  lifted  their  heads 
to  listen,  then  with  an  abrupt  unmusical  cry  began  to  swim 
swiftly  down  toward  the  confluence  with  the  Tellico  Biver. 
A  dog  barked  and  was  silent  once  more.  Then  distant 
though  it  was,  indeterminate,  merely  a  pulsing  throb  in  the 
air,  Laroche  recognized  the  far-away  beating  of  a  drum,  and 
could  hardly  distinguish  it,  save  by  its  steadier,  more  rhyth 
mic  throb,  from  the  agitated  beating  of  his  own  heart. 

Perhaps  it  may  have  been  due  to  the  influences  of  mental 
solitude,  as  it  were,  and  much  introspective  brooding,  always 
averse  to  the  prosaic  mundane  atmosphere ;  perhaps  to  that 
undefined  fascination  which  the  life  of  the  Cherokees  of  the 
earlier  epochs  of  our  knowledge  of  them  exerted  upon  certain 
temperaments  among  the  strangers  who  sojourned  with  them  ; 
perhaps  merely  to  personal  antagonism  and  national  preju 
dice,  but  the  sound  of  the  British  fife  and  drum,  now  dis 
tinct,  playing  a  foolish  air,  the  sight  of  the  British  flag,  the 
appearance  of  the  embassy,  half  military,  half  civilian,  some 
mounted,  some  afoot,  partly  English,  partly  Scotch  High 
landers,  the  progress  accommodated  ill  enough  to  the  beat 
of  the  quickstep,  affected  Laroche  as  singularly  crass  and 
uncouth. 

The  undisguisable  contempt  of  the  commander  for  the 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWEB  285 

Indians  and  all  that  appertained  to  them,  the  absolute  lack 
of  comprehension  of  the  subtler  elements  of  their  character, 
the  determination  to  secure  the  object  he  sought  without 
any  recognition  of  the  complicated  details  of  the  environ 
ment,  gave  a  certain  effect  of  ignorance  to  the  address  and 
standpoint  of  the  highly  civilized  man  that  by  contrast  made 
the  aboriginal,  with  his  mystery  of  antiquity,  his  symbolism, 
his  ceremonial,  his  inscrutability,  the  gravity  of  his  courtesy, 
seem  to  have  profited  by  the  lack  of  modern  education  and 
to  be  endowed  with  learning  by  inheritance  and  intuition. 

Without  any  embellishment  of  ceremony  in  his  presence, 
Everard  sauntered  casually  across  the  "  beloved  square " 
toward  the  Indian  chief,  wreathing  his  unwilling  features 
into  such  a  smile  as  he  deemed  might  answer  for  the  occa 
sion,  but  he  stretched  out  his  hand  benignly.  In  the  ser 
vice  of  the  king  it  could  not  hurt  his  dignity  to  shake  hands 
with  an  Injun. 

Moy  Toy,  his  beaded  and  braceleted  arms  folded  across 
his  bosom,  took  no  notice  of  the  proffered  hand,  but  bowed 
halfway  to  the  ground. 

Everard,  in  no  wise  disconcerted,  cared  no  more  for  the 
declination  of  this  courtesy  —  nay,  not  half  so  much  —  than 
if  his  favorite  hound,  Brutus,  whom  he  was  training  to  the 
observance  of  this  gentility  of  greeting,  had  withheld  his 
paw ;  for  sometimes  Brutus  would  shake,  and  sometimes  in 
the  exercise  of  canine  freedom  the  paw  of  Brutus  was  his 
own,  since  Everard' s  cuff  of  disappointment  was  but  a  half 
hearted  demonstration,  and  no  dog  or  horse  stood  in  much 
fear  of  cruelty  from  him. 

That  Everard  was  a  fine,  handsome  man,  and  by  his  pro 
fession  accustomed  to  etiquette  and  parade,  gave  additional 
point  to  his  lack  of  ostentation  and  formality  in  the  present 
instance.  He  evidently  did  not  think  it  worth  his  while. 
But  he  wagged  his  well-shaped  head  eagerly  in  serious  argu 
ment  when  he  forthwith  entered  upon  the  subject  of  his 


286  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

mission  without  preamble,  dispensing  with  the  usual  cere 
monials  of  eating,  drinking,  and  smoking  among  the  Indians. 
Perhaps  he  truly  thought  that  in  view  of  the  slightness  of 
his  force  the  hospitality  of  the  savages  was  not  to  be  trusted 
at  so  inimical  a  juncture.  The  commissioners,  all  mounted, 
looked  on  at  a  little  distance,  and  the  soldiers  were  hard  by, 
drawn  up  in  close  order  just  without  the  "  beloved  square." 
Some  were  in  the  scarlet  gear  of  the  British  foot-soldier  and 
others  in  the  dark  blue  and  green  tartan  of  the  Forty-Second 
Regiment,  and  this  variation  of  costume,  albeit  they  were 
ranged  separately  in  their  respective  ranks,  gave  a  sort  of 
motley  guise  to  the  command  and  impaired  the  effect  of 
their  number.  But  in  truth,  all  told,  the  military  escort 
mustered  scarcely  threescore,  for  the  demonstration  was  essen 
tially  a  pacific  one,  and  Everard  but  expected  to  wield  the 
weapons  of  right  reason  rather  than  brute  force.  He  might, 
however,  have  done  better  execution  with  the  latter,  for  he 
was  no  diplomatist. 

It  was  Everard's  faithful  conviction  that  the  government's 
emissaries  habitually  treated  the  Indians  too  seriously  in 
seeking  to  adopt  their  social  methods  in  conference,  and 
that  thus  the  civilized  ambassador  was  a  fool  from  his  own 
point  of  view  and  a  butt  of  ridicule  to  the  Indians,  who 
could  but  mark  his  failure  in  aboriginal  etiquette  in  a  thou 
sand  undreamed-of  details.  Simplicity,  candor,  directness, 
he  held,  became  a  bold  Briton,  and  he  would  make  no  con 
cessions  to  please  the  Indians  and  foster  their  sense  of 
their  own  consequence  by  letting  them  see  him  play  the 
condemned  monkey,  aping  their  fantastic  savage  ceremony. 

Wherefore  he  stood,  for  he  was  not  invited  to  sit,  but  he 
cared  no  more  for  the  implied  derogation  than  for  the  cour 
tesies  of  such  as  they.  He  leaned  negligently  one  hand  on 
his  sheathed  sword,  its  point  on  the  ground,  and  did  not 
even  maintain  an  erect  attitude,  as  one  obviously  should  in 
addressing  a  prince,  nay,  an  emperor  twice  crowned  by  Brit- 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  287 

ish  and  French  authority.  But  this  dereliction  was  not 
intentional.  In  truth  there  was  a  good  deal  of  Lieutenant 
Everard  in  one  piece,  and  in  common  with  many  other  tall 
people  he  was  disposed  at  times  to  loll  and  make  his  su 
perfluous  length  comfortable.  Not  thus,  however,  did  he 
conduct  himself  on  parade  or  in  the  presence  of  a  military 
superior  or  his  excellency  the  royal  governor,  and  well 
aware  was  Moy  Toy  of  this.  Moreover,  his  beautiful  hair 
was  not  so  well  powdered  as  it  was  wont  to  be,  and  even 
his  hat,  which  he  still  wore,  was  cocked  casually  askew. 

Perhaps  the  consciousness  of  these  facts,  trivial  yet  sig 
nificant,  rendered  Moy  Toy  the  less  capable  of  being  pricked 
in  conscience  by  the  long  list  of  fractures  which  the  old 
treaty  had  suffered  at  his  hands. 

"  And  now,"  said  Everard,  stooping  to  metaphor,  "  the 
path,  so  red  with  the  blood  of  the  English  colonists  and 
British  soldiers  and  the  slain  Cherokee  braves  and  made  so 
crooked  by  the  wiles  of  the  pestiferous  Louisiana  French, 
has  been  whitened  and  straightened  out  by  the  magnanimity 
of  the  great  British  sovereign,  his  majesty  King  George. 
He  has  forgiven  the  treachery  of  the  Cherokees  because  like 
children  they  could  not  reason  aright,  and  like  the  blind  they 
could  not  walk  straight.  He  has  intended  to  purchase 
large  quantities  of  land  from  the  tribe,  that  they  might  have 
the  means  to  build  up  all  the  former  prosperity  of  the  na 
tion  which  their  wickedness  caused  to  be  pulled  down.  He 
expects  to  send  traders  once  more  to  the  Cherokee  country, 
that  the  Indians  may  be  furnished  with  goods  for  their 
necessities  at  a  low  and  uniform  price.  He  will  maintain  a 
system  of  weights  and  measures  amongst  them  to  which  the 
traders  will  be  required  to  conform.  Armorers  will  he 
send  to  mend  their  guns  free  of  charge,  one  gunsmith  to 
every  town,  and  artisans  to  instruct  them  in  the  methods 
and  manufactures  of  civilization.  And  in  return  for  so 
much  clemency  what  did  the  Cherokees  promise  in  the  arti- 


288  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

cles  of  the  new  treaty  ?  A  fair  and  firm  friendship,  a 
forbearance  of  murder  and  fire-raising  on  the  frontier,  the 
surrender  of  any  white  men  of  whatever  nationality  who 
aided  them  in  the  war  against  Great  Britain,  and  the  solemn 
promise  that  they  would  not  suffer  any  Frenchman  to  come 
into  their  country  to  trade,  to  plant,  or  to  build,  lest  they 
be  again  spirited  up  against  the  English  to  subvert  this  new 
treaty  so  faithfully  signed  and  sealed  and  witnessed." 

He  paused  and  silence  fell  suddenly,  save  for  the  far 
away  booming  of  the  buffaloes,  the  murmurous  monotone  of 
the  river,  the  vague  stir  of  a  breeze  from  the  mountains  be 
ginning  to  clash  the  bare  boughs  together  and  lift  the  folds 
of  the  British  flag. 

"  Moy  Toy,"  Everard  resumed  with  a  weighty  manner, 
"  the  ink  of  that  signature  is  hardly  dry,  and  yet  so  early  I 
find  a  Frenchman  installed  amongst  you.  And  there,"  he 
threw  out  his  hand  at  arm's  length,  "  there  is  the  man  !  " 

His  eyes  roaming  around  had  singled  out  Laroche  and 
now  dwelt  upon  him  with  an  expression  at  once  scornful 
and  upbraiding.  Then  his  attention  traveled  fleeringly  up 
and  down  the  barbaric  details  of  the  garb  of  the  splendidly 
decorated  white  man,  who  winced  under  the  voiceless  jeer  of 
the  "perfide  Albion,"  and  whose  gorge  rose  within  him 
while  yet  he  quaked  to  encounter  this  enmity. 

Moy  Toy,  visibly  hesitant,  replied  at  length. 

It  was  his  desire,  he  stated,  to  be  at  peace  with  the  British 
king,  although  he  would  not  or  could  not  protect  from  the 
encroachments  of  the  colonists  the  Cherokees  whom  he  had 
once  called  his  children.  Moy  Toy  held  himself,  in  fact, 
as  the  friend  and  brother  of  that  king,  —  which  statement 
reached  such  a  point  of  sensitiveness  in  Everard's  organi 
zation  as  to  cause  him  to  snort  suddenly  in  surprise  and 
indignation. 

But  Moy  Toy,  although  maintaining  his  dignity  of  port, 
was  hardly  equal  to  himself.  He  could  play  a  double  part 


A  SPECTEE   OF  POWER  289 

easily  enough,  but  to  adjust  the  multiplicity  of  deceits  requi 
site  for  this  emergency  in  good  relation  to  the  interest  of  the 
tribe,  to  forfeit  nothing  of  the  expected  French  support  and 
yet  avoid  the  jeopardy  of  the  price  of  the  lands  to  be  ceded 
to  the  British,  passed  even  his  measures  of  duplicity.  He 
sought  to  adopt  the  wile  that  Tanaesto  had  earlier  essayed. 

The  stranger  was  English  —  so  he  said ;  for  himself  he  did 
not  know ;  he  could  not  pretend  to  decide ;  he  was  no 
linguister ;  he  was  all  for  peace ;  but  the  Great  Spirit  in 
his  unfathomable  wisdom  had  given  men  many  tongues, 
with  which  indeed  they  talked  too  much. 

"  Ha !  "  Everard  exclaimed  sardonically,  "  they  have  been 
at  that  since  the  days  of  Babel ! " 

He  paused  that  the  interpreter  might  repeat  his  words, 
the  while  Everard  transferred  his  flouting  gaze  from  Laroche 
to  the  noble  figure  of  Moy  Toy,  with  no  sort  of  appreci 
ation  of  the  dignity  of  its  aspect,  the  subtle  force  of  its 
facial  expression,  the  picturesque  barbarity  of  its  ornament 
and  garb.  To  him,  in  common  with  many  of  the  Brit 
ish  soldiers  and  colonists  of  the  day,  Moy  Toy  represented 
merely  "  old  Injun  "  or  "  greasy  red  stick.'7  Everard  had, 
however,  an  especial  relish  for  the  perplexity  that  looked 
out  from  among  the  wrinkles  of  his  eyes,  wrought  by  many 
a  problem  of  statecraft,  and  his  pondering,  anxious,  outwitted 
despair.  The  officer  waited  for  a  moment,  expectant  that 
Moy  Toy  would  advance  a  new  argument ;  then,  as  the 
chief  remained  silent,  Everard  proceeded  with  his  own  solu 
tion  of  the  problem. 

"  Perhaps  in  Charlestown  they  may  know  how  to  tell  a 
Frenchman  from  an  Englishman.  If  this  man  is  a  loyal 
subject  of  King  George  he  will  not  grudge  the  detention  in 
so  good  a  cause,  and  I  pledge  my  honor  that  he  shall  be 
put  to  no  charges  for  the  expense  of  the  journey ;  if  a 
Frenchman,  the  colonial  authorities  may  take  him  in  hand 
then  and  I  shall  be  free  of  him." 


290  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

Whatever  his  deficiencies  as  a  diplomat,  Lieutenant  Ever- 
ard  certainly  did  not  lack  courage.  He  lifted  his  head  sud 
denly  ;  his  sword  swung  back  with  his  left  hand  on  its  hilt ; 
tense,  erect,  he  strode  forward  a  dozen  resolute  paces,  and, 
that  the  intention  of  the  act  might  be  obvious  to  all  who 
witnessed  it,  struck  the  cowering  Laroche  on  the  shoulder 
with  the  stern  cry,  "  In  the  king's  name  !  " 

The  sound  seemed  a  spell  to  raise  the  devil  withal. 
Elicited  like  an  echo,  dependent  on  the  tone,  yet  magnified  a 
thousandfold,  an  inarticulate  cry  broke  forth  from  the  tribes 
men,  protesting,  frantic,  but  menacing.  The  crowd  surged 
this  way  and  that,  and  Lieutenant  Everard,  suddenly  mind 
ful  of  the  safety  of  his  soldiers,  turned,  his  chin  high  in 
the  air,  and  his  head  still  haughtily  posed,  to  glance  where 
they  stood,  a  thought  more  compact  than  before,  a  scant  three 
score,  with  the  savages  circling  in  hundreds  tumultuously 
about  them. 

"You  would  not  dispute  his  majesty's  authority! "  Ever 
ard  stiffly  held  his  ground;  for  Moy  Toy,  irate,  commanding, 
although  visibly  agitated,  ordered  him  in  no  set  phrase  to 
desist.  "  He  is  a  Frenchman  and  an  enemy  !  "  urged  Ever 
ard.  "  He  is  no  Cherokee  !  " 

"  He  has  been  made  a  great  '  beloved  man ' !  "  protested 
Moy  Toy.  "  He  is  a  Cherokee  by  adoption !  " 

The  words  roused  the  populace  to  renewed  clamors.  No 
heed  took  the  "  mad  young  men  "  of  the  frowning  faces  of 
their  elders,  the  silent  gestures  of  Moy  Toy  beseeching  a 
hearing. 

There  is  in  that  inarticulate  murmur  of  the  wrath  of  a 
mob  something  so  menacing,  so  daunting,  so  indefinably  ter 
rible,  that  even  Everard  was  receptive  to  an  admonition  so 
growlingly  enforced.  He  took  his  hand  from  the  French 
man's  shoulder  lest  in  having  it  removed  for  him  he  might 
be  torn  in  pieces.  The  implacable  murmur  still  rose,  the 
crowds  still  surged,  and  Laroche,  half  ashamed  yet  wholly 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  291 

reassured,  feared  that  he  looked  as  smug  as  he  felt,  while  a 
glitter  of  satisfaction  and  triumph  shone  in  Moy  Toy's  eyes. 
They  narrowed  as  he  gazed  steadily,  threateningly,  with  a 
latent  devilish  thought,  at  Everard,  so  entirely  at  his  mercy. 
A  corner  was  a  very  tight  fit  for  Lieutenant  John  Francis 
Everard,  but  he  was  fairly  in  it.  He  was  accustomed  to 
disport  himself  freely  in  the  open,  and  the  wriggles  incident 
to  a  confined  space  did  not  suit  his  muscles,  his  size,  or  his 
temper.  He  made  an  effort  to  wrench  himself  from  it. 

"  Mighty  fine  !  mighty  fine !  "  he  said  sneeringly  to  the 
Frenchman.  "  You  are  sane  enough,  sir,  and  sober  enough, 
to  know  what  poor  stuff  this  is,  —  what  pitiful  dupes  you  are 
befooling  and  befuddling  !  Faugh !  your  deceits  sicken  me  ! 

He  looked  with  a  snarl,  which  he  designed  to  be  a  with 
ering  smile,  over  the  fantastic  apparel  of  the  Frenchman, 
but  Lieutenant  Everard  was  as  much  out  of  countenance  as 
a  man  of  his  stamp  could  well  be. 

"  Zounds  !  "  he  resumed,  still  seeking  to  recover  the  con 
trol  of  the  situation,  and  shaking  off  Moy  Toy's  restraining 
hand  laid  upon  his  arm,  "  we  '11  hear  the  fellow  himself. 
Since  you  are  English,  give  us  your  name,  sirrah  !  " 

He  was  consciously  and  blatantly  rude,  rejoicing  in  his 
capacity  to  be  independent  of  the  varnish  with  which  such 
occasions  are  sleeked  over. 

Laroche's  blood  began  to  rise,  his  eye  to  sparkle.  De 
spite  his  awful,  imminent  jeopardy, — for  who  could  say 
how  the  scene  might  even  yet  result,  —  the  spirit  of  the 
fray  quivered  through  his  blood.  "  If  it  may  please  your 
excellency,"  he  said  in  his  usual  clear  tones  and  precise 
enunciation,  "  yonder  stands  a  man  in  your  ranks  to  whom 
I  am  personally  known.  Your  excellency  might  prefer  to 
believe  his  account  of  me  rather  than  my  own." 

Everard  stared  blankly  and  secretly  winced.  The  man's 
politeness  had  a  whetted  edge,  that  cut  like  ridicule.  The 
title  of  "  excellency,"  so  far  above  the  usage  of  the  lieuten- 


292  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

ant's  rank  and  deserts,  might  have  been  conferred  in  igno 
rance  or  propitiation,  but  taken  in  conjunction  with  his  own 
rude  address  seemed  as  apt  as  a  fleer. 

Everard  was  at  once  doubtful  and  bewildered.  The  stran 
ger's  English,  so  far  as  the  construction  of  his  sentences  and 
choice  of  words  went,  was  perfect.  There  was,  however,  some 
thing  in  his  intonation  which  grated  on  the  Briton's  ear. 
Nevertheless,  there  were  many  variations  of  provincial  ac 
cent,  especially  in  the  colonies.  Everard,  in  fact,  believed 
that  no  one  here  could  speak  the  language  with  purity,  as 
if  it  had  suffered  a  sea  change  in  coming  over  the  water. 

Turning  toward  the  ranks,  he  perceived  a  touch  of  con 
sciousness  on  Callum  Macllvesty's  face,  and  was  startled  to 
remember  that  it  was  his  original  intention  to  confront  the 
two,  that  Callum  might  identify  this  man  as  the  French- 
speaking  familiar  of  the  Ancient  Warrior  of  Chilhowee.  By 
a  gesture  he  summoned  the  Highlander  to  his  side,  and 
simultaneously  the  Frenchman  stepped  forth  and  stood  beside 
Moy  Toy.  The  Indian's  eyes  were  all  aglitter,  and  a  tremor 
agitated  the  feathers  stiffly  upright  on  his  polled  head. 

"  Macllvesty,  did  you  ever  before  see  this  man  ?  "  de 
manded  the  officer,  while  the  two  eyed  each  other. 

"  Aye,  sir,  mony  a  time,"  replied  Callum  Macllvesty. 

Everard  stared.     "  And  where  ?  " 

"At  one  Jock  Lesly's  trading-house  at  loco  Town,  sir." 

Whither  was  this  tending  ?  The  expression  of  the  officer's 
face  became  amazed,  concerned,  intent.  The  flutter  among 
the  head  feathers  of  Moy  Toy  was  suddenly  stilled. 

"  When  was  this  ?  "  the  military  catechist  demanded. 

"Nigh  on  a  year  ago  come  Easter,  sir." 

The  triumph  in  the  man's  face,  its  suggestion  of  covert 
ridicule,  nettled  Everard.  Into  what  fool's  play  had  he  been 
lured  ? 

"  Why,  Callum  !  "  he  said  in  a  reproachful  murmur  aside ; 
then  aloud,  "  What >s  his  name  ?  " 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  293 

Callum  shook  his  head.    "  I  dinna  ken,  sir  ;  I  misdoubt." 

"  What  was  he  called  ?  "  the  lieutenant  mended  the  phrase. 

"Tarn  — Tarn  Wilson." 

"  Oh  Callum  —  Callum  Bane  !  "  once  more  the  officer's 
admonitory  whisper  reached  him.  "  And  where  was  he  said 
to  hail  from  ?  "  Everard  added  aloud. 

"  Firginia,  sir,"  faltered  the  Highland  soldier. 

It  was  becoming  definite  in  Everard's  mind  that  Callum, 
all  agog  about  the  French,  as  the  Highland  soldiery,  who 
had  often  triumphantly  encountered  them,  forever  were,  and 
hearing  much  of  suspected  machinations  among  the  Indians, 
had  but  dreamed  of  the  French  enemy  beside  the  effigy  of 
the  Indian  Warrior  and  had  heard  only  in  fancy,  perhaps 
in  the  inception  of  the  fever,  the  words  that  he  repeated. 
For  evidently  this  man  was  not  only  well  known  to  him, 
but  was  also  long  a  familiar  of  the  English  trading-station 
in  the  Cherokee  nation.  Perhaps  even  yet  the  young  fel 
low's  mind  was  not  quite  clear. 

Nevertheless,  since  the  ordeal  had  been  in  his  defense 
and  for  his  sake,  Everard  was  minded  to  be  gentle  with  him, 
although  the  false  position  into  which  Callum  had  involved 
him  burned  the  officer's  pride  like  fire. 

"  Why  did  you  think  he  was  French,  Macllvesty  ?  "  he 
asked  openly. 

"  Because,"  said  Callum,  with  a  keen  resentment  against 
himself,  the  officer,  the  arch-deceiver,  the  untoward  facts 
themselves,  that  he  could  not  make  the  truth  as  he  knew  it 
now,  as  he  was  sure  of  it,  appear  as  aught  but  a  falsehood 
or  a  folly,  "  he  spoke  French  —  he  spoke  it  to  himself !  — 
when  I  saw  him  last,  a  fortnight  ago,  amang  the  Injuns." 

"  And,  Callum,"  said  Laroche  familiarly,  "  did  you  never 
hear  an  Englishman  speak  French  ?  Why,  lad,  I  myself 
have  e'en  heard  a  Scotchman's  tongue  waggling  into  it ! " 

His  eyes  twinkled  as  if  in  reminiscence,  and  Everard,  re 
membering  the  peculiarities  of  the  Highlander's  accent,  was 


294  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

minded  to  mark  anew  the  familiarity  of  this  Tarn  Wilson 
with  him.  He  himself  had  not  spoken  his  Christian  name 
aloud,  hut  the  stranger  knew  it,  and  with  no  prompting 
called  him  "  Callum." 

Bewildered,  raging  internally,  humiliated,  Callum  was 
ordered  to  his  former  place  in  the  ranks,  having  only  suc 
ceeded,  because  of  the  artifice  of  this  arch-strategist  and  the 
intractability  and  paucity  of  the  perverse  facts,  in  identi 
fying  this  Frenchman  as  an  Englishman,  to  the  satisfaction, 
or  rather  dissatisfaction,  of  his  superior  officer. 

Of  all  people  incompetent  to  use  power  without  its  abuse 
the  Cherokees  were  preeminent.  The  turbulent  mob  had 
been  quick  to  discern  in  the  result  of  the  conference  that 
their  adopted  tribesman,  the  French  officer,  was  obviously 
triumphant ;  that  Moy  Toy,  although  standing  like  a  statue, 
was  overjoyed,  with  gleaming  wide  eyes  and  an  elated  port. 
They  could  ill  afford  magnanimity  toward  these  people,  so 
many  grudges  as  a  nation  and  as  individuals  did  they  owe 
the  English,  consequent  on  the  slaughters  and  fire-raising 
and  punitive  famine  they  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the 
British  troops  in  the  warfare  of  the  preceding  years.  Their 
note  of  comment  had  lost  its  tone  of  appeal,  of  indignation, 
of  protest.  It  was  swelling  now  and  again  into  a  savage 
roar  of  awful  import,  of  reprisal,  of  scorn,  of  eager  brutality. 

Laroche  heard  in  it  the  knell  of  all  his  hopes.  This  pre 
cipitate  action  would  forever  frustrate  the  fruition  of  his  work 
here,  —  the  gathering  and  organization  of  the  tribal  forces, 
the  transportation  of  supplies,  the  plan  of  his  campaign,  — 
and  with  this,  his  success,  his  promotion,  his  hard-earned 
guerdon,  for  which  he  had  labored  so  diligently,  so  dis 
creetly,  so  valiantly.  He  was  not  ready  to  strike  yet  —  not 
yet !  A  premature  blow  now  would  preclude  all  those  se 
quences  of  aggression  so  carefully  planned,  for  the  forces  of 
the  campaign  were  as  yet  unprepared ;  the  English  would 
be  first  in  the  field,  and  the  tribal  remnants  of  the  Indian 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  295 

nations  taken  in  detail  and  succession  would  be  overwhelmed, 
intimidated,  scattered,  before  the  carefully  aggregated  re^ 
sources  of  the  French  expedition  could  be  made  effective  and 
available. 

It  was  necessary  that  he  should  think  very  last.  And  yet 
when  he  spoke  his  words  seemed  quite  casual,  almost  irrel 
evant.  "As  to  Callum  Macllvesty,"  he  said  to  Everard, 
"  why,  I  hardly  know  what  to  make  of  Callum !  He  always 
seemed  jealous  of  me  on  account  of  Jock  Lesly's  beautiful 
daughter,  Miss  Lilias,  —  who  was  much  too  good  for  either 
of  us !  "  he  stipulated  gallantly.  "  But  I  should  never  have 
suspected  Callum  of  an  invention  like  this !  " 

Everard  looked  at  him  keenly.  This  added  another  point 
in  favor  of  his  identity  as  a  Virginian,  —  his  familiarity  with 
the  names  of  the  members  of  the  trader's  household ;  another 
reason  why  his  image  should  intrude  into  the  troubled  deli 
rium  of  the  Highland  soldier,  —  an  old  romance,  with  heart 
burnings  and  rivalries.  Little  wonder  that  in  the  distorted 
mental  images  of  fever  the  hated  figure  of  perhaps  the  for 
tunate  suitor  should  appear  invested  with  the  added  oppro 
brium  of  the  national  enemy. 

The  buoyant  airy  grace  of  this  figure,  even  in  the  Indian 
garb,  the  volatile  but  bated  aggressiveness  of  manner,  the 
joyous,  yet  capable,  intellectual  expression  of  face,  the  hand 
some  eyes  and  regular  features  suggested  that  he  might 
appear  to  no  contemptible  advantage  in  the  estimation  of 
a  girl  as  contrasted  with  the  grave,  reserved,  proud,  and  ex 
acting  Highlander,  with  many  an  inherited  sorrow  to  make 
him  serious  and  many  a  personal  privation  to  make  him 
bitter.  With  his  youth  and  strength  and  the  natural  amia 
bility  of  his  nature  Callum  could  on  occasion  throw  off  the 
consciousness  of  these  weights  and  be  merry.  But  this 
fellow's  element  was  the  air  itself,  and  the  necessity  to  be 
serious  was  like  the  clipping  of  wings. 

"  Come,  sir,  let  us  have  an  end  of  this,"  said  Everard. 


296  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

"Being  English  you  cannot  object  to  go  to  Charlestown 
and  make  your  standing  clear  to  the  authorities.  I  pledge 
my  honor  that  you  shall  be  put  to  no  expense  and  shall  be 
indemnified  for  any  financial  loss  you  may  sustain  by  reason 
of  your  absence." 

"  If  I  should  agree  these  people  would  regard  it  as  if  I 
were  taken  by  force,"  Laroche  protested.  "  Your  life  would 
be  the  forfeit.  Indeed,  I  am  already  concerned  for  your 
safety.  I  cannot  control  the  Cherokees.  You  know  what  they 
are  !  You  must  admit  that  your  errand  here  is  futile  !  " 

It  was  so  contrary  to  Everard's  temperament  to  accept  de 
feat  in  any  form  that  he  could  only  accede  metaphorically. 
"I'm  not  half  blind  !  "  he  said. 

Laroche  pressed  the  point.  "  The  effusion  of  blood  is 
threatened.  You  must  perceive  it." 

"  The  knife  is  at  my  throat,"  assented  Everard  debonairly, 
as  if  scornful  of  his  peril. 

Laroche  tried  him  on  a  more  vulnerable  topic.  "  The 
commissioners'  party  would  never  get  out  of  the  country. 
But  to  save  the  lives  of  your  brave  soldiers  and  the  civilian 
commissioners,  who  have  no  quarrel  with  any  one,  if  you 
will  at  once  draw  off  your  force  I  will  use  what  influence 
I  have  with  Moy  Toy  to  let  you  go  scot-free  through  the 
country." 

The  eyes  of  Everard  were  large,  but  the  astonished  white 
showed  all  around  the  iris.  He  gasped  once  or  twice  and 
caught  his  breath,  —  that  the  man  whom  he  had  come  to  ar 
rest  under  the  authority  of  the  British  government  and  bear 
away  captive  should  engage  to  see  him  clear  of  the  Chero 
kee  country ! 

Only  after  many  stormy  wrangles  with  Moy  Toy,  how 
ever,  and  the  other  headmen,  did  Laroche,  secretly  urging 
upon  them  the  jeopardized  interests  of  the  cession  and  the 
disastrous  effects  of  precipitancy  in  the  imminent  emprise 
of  the  united  tribal  armies,  secure  acquiescence  in  this 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  297 

plan  of  permitting  the  expedition  to  depart  in  peace.  It  was, 
nevertheless,  a  perilous  time.  The  air  seemed  freighted 
with  treachery.  Along  the  route  among  the  Overhill  towns 
lying  on  the  Tennessee  Eiver,  always  reputed  the  most 
war-like  and  implacable  and  powerful  of  the  Cherokee  na 
tion,  through  which  they  must  needs  pass  to  retrace  their 
way,  hardly  an  hour  elapsed  in  which  some  inimical  demon 
stration  did  not  seem  impending.  Now  the  march  was 
checked  by  a  deputation  from  some  more  remote  town  de 
siring  to  send  by  their  hand  a  memorial  or  a  present  to 
Governor  Boone.  Now  a  formidable  group  of  savages, 
splendidly  armed  and  mounted,  rejoicing  in  the  terrible  sus 
picions  of  sinister  designs  and  lurking  ambuscades  in  force, 
which  their  presence  must  foster,  begged  to  take  personal 
and  individual  leave  of  the  notables  of  the  expedition. 

Everard,  in  all  his  military  experience,  had  never  known 
such  anxiety.  He  could  not  have  watched  a  father's  dan 
ger  with  more  tender  and  self-reproachful  solicitude  than 
he  felt  for  the  elderly  civilians,  with  their  wrinkled  counte 
nances  and  bewigged  heads  wagging  affably  under  the  cere 
monious  ordeal  of  parting  from  these  friends,  who  might  at 
a  wanton  blow  bloody  the  one  and  break  the  other,  and 
account  the  deed  righteousness  and  patriotism.  Alas,  for 
the  point  of  view ! 

"I  can  never  forgive  myself  for  extending  and  increasing 
your  jeopardy,"  Everard  said  to  them  in  uncharacteristic 
dismay  one  night,  as  he  sat  with  the  commissioners  around 
the  camp-fire,  each  man  with  a  sort  of  automatic  motion  of 
looking  over  the  shoulder  at  intervals,  to  descry,  perchance, 
in  the  shadows  something  more  dangerous  than  the  green 
shining  of  a  panther's  eyes  or  a  wolf  crouched  ready  to 
spring.  The  sound  of  the  sentry's  tramp,  as  unmolested  he 
walked  his  beat  hard  by,  was  a  reassurance  that  naught  else 
could  bestow.  "  I  ought  to  be  court-martialed,  I  ought  to 
be  broke,  I  vow  and  protest  1 " 


298  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

He  cared  little  for  the  military  views  of  the  polite  and 
"  lady-like  old  men,'7  but  the  chorus  of  indignant  negation 
that  rose  upon  the  suggestion  was  as  salve  to  a  wound.  He 
had  moved  with  the  entire  sanction  of  the  commissioners 
themselves,  one  of  them  argued. 

"And  if  the  man  had  been  that  fellow  Laroche  or 
Louis  Latinac,  think  of  the  repose  his  capture  would  have 
insured  the  frontier !  "  exclaimed  the  member  of  the  coun 
cil,  the  diplomat. 

"  Either  one  is  worth  a  regiment  to  the  French  cause," 
growled  the  basso  profundo  of  the  geologist.  "  The  mere 
chance  was  not  to  be  neglected." 

"  We  are  not  required  to  achieve  the  impossible.  We 
are  all  held  down  to  metes  and  bounds,  course  and  dis 
tance,"  said  the  surveyor. 

"  And  the  best  of  us  are  subject  to  mistakes.  Think  of 
me,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Taviston,  fitting  together  his  waxen- 
white,  knuckly  fingers  and  casting  an  aquiline  smile  at 
Everard,  on  one  side  of  the  fire.  "  I  actually  sent  a  mis- 
description  of  a  specimen  to  the  Botanical  Society,  and  the 
mistake,  when  discovered  —  so  overwhelming,  so  important, 
so  humiliating  —  I  took  to  my  bed  !  " 

Lieutenant  Everard  did  not  in  his  contrition  seek  this 
refuge  in  recumbency,  but  as  Mr.  Taviston  entered  upon  a 
long,  minute,  and  learned  account  of  how  the  error  had 
occurred,  and  the  exact  points  of  difference,  and  all  the 
bewigged  heads  leaned  together  to  hear,  to  compare,  to 
comment,  to  condole,  Everard,  on  the  pretext  of  visiting  the 
guards,  which  he  did  himself  at  close  intervals,  quitted 
the  group.  He  looked  back  at  them  once  as  they  sat  around 
the  flare  in  the  darkness,  oblivous  for  the  time  of  danger, 
regardless  of  night,  impervious  to  cold,  eager,  agitated,  curi 
ous,  utterly  absorbed ;  and  yet  the  point  of  interest,  as  well 
as  he  could  make  out,  was  that  Mr.  Taviston  had  actually 
said  by  strange  inadvertence  filiform  instead  of  filamentose. 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  299 

"  But,"  he  commented  to  himself,  "  if  a  gang  of  Cherokees 
should  tomahawk  that  party,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  brains 
would  be  spilt  as  well  as  blood !  " 

Among  those  denizens  of  the  nation  who  took  ceremo 
nious  farewell  of  the  commissioners'  expedition  was  gay 
Tarn  Wilson,  arrayed  still  in  white  dressed  deerskin  with 
its  flaring  fringes,  wrought  with  scarlet  feathers,  all  floating 
to  the  breeze,  gallantly  mounted,  fully  armed,  and  with  a 
crest  of  scarlet  feathers  on  his  curling  light  brown  hair. 
This  demonstration  impressed  Everard  as  only  another  in 
timation  that  Tarn  Wilson  was  naught  but  what  he  seemed, 
—  some  colonial  wight  who  had  rather  idle  and  hunt  and 
play  among  the  Indians  than  work  at  a  more  suitable  voca 
tion  at  home.  Callum,  however,  accounted  it  the  height  of 
insolent  bravado.  Albeit  his  conviction  was  not  susceptible 
of  proof,  he  had  no  doubt  that  this  was  the  long-sought 
French  emissary  who  fomented  the  discontents  of  the  Cher 
okees.  He  was  sure  that  trouble  indeed  would  soon  be 
brewing  along  the  frontier. 

Laroche  had  perceived  at  a  glance  that  the  situation  was 
a  revelation  to  Callum  Macllvesty,  who  had  no  thought  to 
find  Tarn  Wilson  a  French  emissary.  Lilias  had  indeed  kept 
her  promise.  It  was  not  she  who  had  betrayed  his  secret, 
but  only  through  his  own  inadvertence  had  the  Highlander 
been  permitted  to  discover  it. 

He  read  in  Callum's  face  the  proud  indignation  that  he 
felt  in  the  knowledge  that  for  this  man,  this  arch-deceiver, 
his  love  had  been  scorned,  his  loyal  heart  cast  aside,  —  this 
man,  who  had  accepted  their  tendance  which  brought  him 
back  from  the  verge  of  the  grave,  and  who  yet  burned,  by 
the  hand  of  his  myrmidons,  the  kindly  roof  that  had  shel 
tered  him,  —  this  man,  who  won  a  woman's  love  under  a 
false  name,  a  false  semblance,  a  false  nationality,  a  false 
tongue,  idly,  purposelessly,  to  beguile  the  tedium  of  conva 
lescence,  slipping  cannily  back  to  his  old  life  again  and 


300  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

leaving  her  to  pine,  —  this  man,  their  old  familiar  Tarn 
Wilson,  the  French  emissary  who  with  wily  and  wicked 
instigations  spirited  up  the  mischievous  Cherokees  against 
the  British  colonists. 

The  change  in  his  position  here,  his  acceptance  of  the 
customs  of  barbarism,  his  amity  with  the  Indians,  his  adop 
tion  into  the  tribe,  his  assumption  of  the  Cherokee  garb,  had 
always  impressed  Laroche  as  a  military  necessity,  but  he 
winced  as  he  fancied  how  the  grave,  deliberative,  listening 
face  of  Lilias  would  relax  to  scornful  laughter  and  con 
temptuous  pity  when  Callum  Macllvesty  should  detail  to 
her  these  grotesque  details  in  the  discovery  of  Tarn  Wil 
son's  identity  with  the  malignant  destroyer  of  the  peace 
with  the  Indian  tribes.  He  had  never  been  so  conscious 
of  the  tawdry  savage  foolery  of  beads  and  feathers  and 
paint  as  when  the  party  were  all  climbing  a  steep  ascent 
afoot  to  rest  the  hard-traveled  horses,  and  chance  brought 
him  near  to  Callum  Macllvesty.  Yet  it  was  in  bravado,  as 
he  strode  along  with  the  reins  of  his  steed  thrown  over  his 
arm,  that  he  greeted  the  Highlander. 

"  Barley  !  Barley  !  "  he  quoted,  smiling.  "  A  truce,  lad  ! 
Be  sure  that  you  remember,  when  you  tell  Miss  Lilias  of 
how  you  found  me  here  still,  the  same  yet  not  the  same, 
and  of  my  high  place  in  the  esteem  of  the  imperial  Moy 
Toy,  and  of  my  suspected  efforts  to  shake  the  footstool  of 
the  British  throne,  to  tell  her  also  that  but  for  me  you  and 
your  blundering  braggadocio  of  a  lieutenant  would  never 
have  got  home  alive.  So  between  us  it  is  even  —  a  life 
for  a  life  !  " 

"Maister  Wilson,  —  though  that  is  not  your  name, — 
you  may  e'en  find  some  other  to  bear  your  messages.  I 
shall  tell  that  young  leddy  naething  ;  and  but  for  that  you 
do  bestir  yourseP  to  save  the  lives  of  the  commissioners,  I 
wad  strike  ye  on  the  mouth  for  so  much  as  calling  her 
name ! " 


A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER  301 

Laroche  winced  as  from  a  veritable  blow  ;  then,  with 
one  of  his  sudden,  mercurial  reactions,  he  cried  impulsively, 
"  Tell  her  all,  Callum  !  Let  her  know  how  it  stands  now  ! 
It  will  make  it  the  better  for  you !  For  myself,  I  never 
hope  to  see  her  again  !  " 

The  Highlander  doggedly  trudged  along  the  verge  of  the 
steeps,  his  shadow  gigantic  in  the  leafy  valley  below,  his 
picturesque  figure  with  kilt  and  plaid  and  bonnet  and  long 
firelock  imposed  on  the  varying  azure  of  the  ranges  of  moun 
tains  that  she  fead  so  loved.  He  had  been  gazing  at  them  all 
day  and  for  many  a  day  past  with  that  thought  in  his  mind, 
—  that  she  had  loved  them  ! 

"  I  sail  tell  her  naething !  "  he  said  implacably.  "  If  it 
makes  it  better  for  me  that  another  man  isna  what  he 
seemed  she  is  no  for  me." 

And  then  he  closed  his  lips  fast. 

In  Laroche's  heart  blossomed  forth  suddenly  a  deep  secret 
joy  to  know  that  in  all  this  time  the  young  lovers  were  not 
reconciled.  His  vanity  plumed  itself  in  the  thought.  No 
transient  fancy  it  was  that  he  had  inspired.  And  this  proud 
fool !  —  he  could  have  laughed  aloud  to  see  the  Highlander, 
solemnly  stalking  among  his  bitter  memories  and  her  "  sweet 
mountains,"  resolved  to  hold  his  peace  and  eat  out  his 
heart  because  he  would  not  deign  to  profit  by  the  fact  that 
the  lady  of  his  love  had  cared  for  a  man  who  proved  un 
worthy,  thus  liberating  her  preference,  to  be  captured  anew 
by  himself,  catching  her  heart  in  the  rebound. 

"  Choose,  you  proud  peat !  "  Laroche  said  to  himself, 
repeating  a  gibe  that  he  had  often  heard  at  Jock  Lesly's 
fireside.  And  when  he  mounted  anew  he  rode  away  right 
merrily. 


XV 

THE  method  in  which  Lieutenant  Everard  had  compassed 
his  retreat  from  the  Cherokee  country  gave  rise  to  much  dis 
cussion  in  that  day,  especially  among  military  and  quasi 
military  men.  Particularly  was  this  of  interest  at  those 
remote  and  feehle  posts  at  which  small  detachments  were 
stationed  on  the  verge  of  the  Indian  country  and  among 
conditions  likely  at  any  time  to  duplicate  his  dilemma.  It 
was  variously  contended  that  he  should  have  stood  his 
ground  even  had  his  heart  been  cut  out  still  pulsating,  and 
per  contra  that  his  course  was  amply  justified,  — nay,  that 
the  obligation  to  save  the  civilian  commissioners  as  well  as 
the  men  of  his  command  was  imperative,  and  that  it  would 
have  been  criminal  folly  to  fail  to  take  advantage  of  the  op 
portunity  to  make  off  thus  with  something  less  than  the  full 
honors  of  war,  more  especially  as  the  expedition  was  not  of 
a  strictly  military  character. 

The  licensed  British  traders,  plying  their  vocation  among 
the  Catawbas,  Creeks,  and  Chickasaws,  entertained  the  high 
and  sanguinary  view  of  Lieutenant  Everard' s  duty  in  the 
premises,  seeming  to  think  that  blood  spilled  in  their  inter 
est  was  well  spent,  and  to  resent  any  precautionary  measures 
that  tended  to  hoard  it.  Whereas  the  officers  of  the  little 
flimsy  forts  believed  the  effort  to  protect  the  mercantile 
monopoly  of  the  Indian  trade  by  the  British  government 
was  not  worth  the  sacrifice  of  life  and  the  effusion  of  blood 
when  it  came  to  the  hopeless  odds  of  a  thousand  to  some 
threescore. 

The  discomfiture  of  the  British  embassy  to  Great  Tellico 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  303 

and  the  inglorious  return  of  Lieutenant  Everard,  failing  to 
compass  the  arrest  he  demanded,  seemed  to  have  imparted  a 
certain  assurance  to  Indian  prestige.  A  new  and  subtle  ar 
rogance  of  mind,  covert  and  yet  perceptible,  distinguished 
the  attitude  of  the  warriors  toward  the  British  traders  who 
had  the  opportunity  to  observe  them.  This  did  not  character 
ize  individuals  only,  but  appertained  to  a  generally  diffused 
spirit  among  the  tribes.  It  was  peculiarly  marked  among 
the  few  Cherokees  seen  in  these  days  beyond  their  own 
boundaries,  but  extended  to  the  Muscogees  and  their  sub- 
tribes,  also  the  Choctaws,  the  Choccomaws,  and  went  even 
so  far  as  to  touch  their  inimical  kindred  the  Chickasaws,  — 
always  hitherto  friendly  to  the  British  and  averse  to  the 
French.  It  suggested  some  treasured  consciousness  of  latent 
strength.  As  a  portent  of  the  quiet  biding  of  an  ultimate 
time  of  reckoning,  instances  of  patience  and  lenience  on  the 
part  of  Indians  under  provocation  became  more  menacing 
than  open  protest  or  violent  wrath.  A  subtle  lurking  tri 
umph  could  be  discerned,  nevertheless,  in  their  manner,  — 
the  proud  glance,  the  arrogant  carriage,  the  crafty  turn  of  a 
phrase,  charged  with  a  double  meaning.  Especially  pro 
minent  and  perceptible  were  these  indicia  when  many  of 
various  nationalities,  some  of  the  tribes  now  extinct,  chanced 
to  be  congregated  together  at  a  trading-station  such  as  the 
one  beginning  to  be  organized  anew  under  the  guns  of  Fort 
Prince  George. 

As  yet  public  confidence  in  the  restoration  of  peace  in 
the  Cherokee  country  had  not  been  reestablished.  An  out 
break  seemed  imminent  at  any  moment,  albeit  indeterminate, 
vaguely  in  the  air.  Constant  rumors  of  the  machinations 
of  French  emissaries,  especially  the  two  officers  Latinac 
and  Laroche,  deterred  capital,  always  conservative,  and  the 
hideous  character  of  Indian  vengeance  daunted  the  hardiest 
British  trader  from  essaying  a  premature  effort.  Up  to  this 
time,  therefore,  no  trading  licenses  had  been  applied  for  or 


304  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

issued  for  the  towns  of  the  upper  country  since  the  burning 
of  Jock  Lesly's  trading-house  on  the  Tennessee  River.  In 
the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Prince  George,  however,  a  degree 
of  reassurance  was  felt  since  a  military  defense  was  possi 
ble  and  a  refuge  at  hand.  Moreover,  in  case  the  fort  itself 
should  be  besieged,  as  it  lay  on  the  southeastern  confines  of 
the  Cherokee  country,  relief  could  be  sent  out  from  Carolina 
before  famine  would  compel  a  capitulation.  It  is  true  that 
in  the  war  just  concluded  the  blow  fell  here  first  of  all,  four 
teen  white  men  being  suddenly  murdered  within  a  mile  of  the 
fort.  However,  the  advantages  of  trade  were  now  peculiarly 
great  by  reason  of  this  absence  of  marts  in  the  upper  region, 
and  for  a  season  or  so  the  Cherokee  village  of  Keowee, 
within  gunshot  of  the  "fort,  attracted  a  great  concourse  of  In 
dian  hunters  bent  on  the  barter  of  deerskins,  furs,  and  pearls. 

Jock  Lesly,  one  of  the  most  experienced  of  the  early 
traders,  had  foreseen  and  seized  this  advantage,  and  albeit 
he  still  ostentatiously  sighed  for  his  old  home  on  the  Ten 
nessee  River  and  fondled  his  sorrow  as  an  exile,  and  was 
wont  in  financial  pride  and  vainglory  to  recount  the  value 
of  his  stock  and  "  gude  will,"  on  the  last  of  which  he  laid 
particular  stress,  being  so  well  acquainted  with  the  country, 
—  to  use  his  phrase,  "  wi'  baith  man  an'  beast,  wi'  ilka 
buck  on  twa  legs  or  four  that  roamit  the  woods,"  —  he 
had  ample  opportunity  in  the  lack  of  competition  to  recoup 
himself  for  the  losses  that  he  had  sustained.  Moreover,  he 
had  the  trade  of  the  officers  and  men  at  the  fort,  for  those 
days  in  no  wise  differed  from  these  in  the  necessities  sud 
denly  developed  as  soon  as  one  is  out  of  reach  of  the  usual 
sources  of  supply. 

The  trader  was  cheerful  in  these  fair  prospects,  rosy  and 
jocund,  and  in  this  connection  said  "oh  fie"  many  times 
to  call  his  daughter's  attention  to  the  fact  how  "  fat  and 
well-liking  he  was,"  needing  none  of  her  care,  and  to  urge 
her  return  to  the  colonies. 


A  SPECTKE   OF  POWER  305 

"  I  '11  e'en  bide  here,"  she  averred  firmly.  "  There  's  but 
the  twa  o'  us.  I  maun  hae  my  hame  where  ye  be,  for  ye 
are  gettiri'  auld  ;  your  pow  is  fu'  gray  !  " 

"  Ye  are  a  graceless  bairn  to  say  as  muckle  !  —  oh  fie  ! 
—  I  was  born  wi'  a  tow  head ! "  exclaimed  Jock  Lesly, 
who  although  nattered  by  her  filial  affection  felt  that  she 
would  be  safer  in  Charlestown.  "I  to  be  ca'd  gray  an' 
auld  !  —  when  I  hae  ne'er  been  sae  weel-favored,  —  comelier, 
I  trow,  than  ony  o'  thae  young  lads  at  the  fort,  though  a' 
dressed  out  in  their  flim-giskies." 

He  sometimes  wondered  vaguely  if  any  of  them  could  be 
the  attraction  that  held  her  here,  and  then  reflected  sagely 
that  there  were  more  lads  still  in  Charlestown.  He  had  ex 
perienced  a  vague  regret  to  notice  —  and  he  had  often  tried 
to  recall  when  it  had  first  arrested  his  attention  —  that  there 
had  been  a  gradual  averse  change  in  her  manner  toward 
Macllvesty  and  a  certain  glum  dourness  in  his  reception 
of  it. 

"  That 's  no  the  way  to  win  a  high-sperited  lass  like  Li- 
lias,"  he  reflected  impatiently.  "  I  wonder  that  the  callant 
has  na  mair  sense.  He  suld  be  sonsy  an'  gay,  an'  mak  a 
braw  show  wi'  his  Hieland  coats  an'  kilts  that  he  thinks 
sae  fine,  an'  that  set  off  sae  weel  his  buirdly  round  hand 
some  legs.  Sic  a  spindle-shanks  as  that  chiel  Tarn  Wilson 
now  wad  aye  be  glad  o'  the  fringed  leggings." 

And  then  he  paused  again.  For  why  must  he  be  always 
thinking  of  Tarn  Wilson  presently  when  his  mind  was  busy 
with  the  subject  of  the  differences  which  he  vaguely  per 
ceived  had  arisen  between  Callum  and  Lilias  ?  He  frowned 
heavily  to  note  anew  the  connection  of  ideas.  Surely, 
surely,  the  Highlander  could  not  think  that  she  preferred 
this  man,  —  this  stranger,  of  whom  they  knew  naught  save 
that  his  name  was  Tarn  Wilson,  and  that  he  hailed  from 
some  far-away  region  of  Virginia. 

Adventurous,  experimental  himself,  Jock  Lesly,  in  com- 


306  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

mon  with  many  of  the  empiric  temperament,  was  the  most 
conservative  of  men  in  his  views  controlling  others.  He 
had  scorned  and  contemned  a  title  as  "  fitten  neither  to  eat 
nor  drink,"  but  he  was  exceedingly  tenacious  of  the  fact 
that  he  himself  came  of  good  honest  folk,  who  could  trace 
their  ancestors,  although  of  humble  station,  —  farmers,  fish 
ers,  and  traders,  —  for  many  and  many  a  generation  with 
out  a  reproach  or  blemish,  and  thus  he  had  perceived  no 
incongruity  that  Callum  Macllvesty  with  his  gentle  blood 
should  become  the  husband  of  Lilias.  He  knew,  of  course, 
that  the  Highlander's  inherited  right  to  lands  and  lineage 
was  in  these  days  of  attainder  and  forfeiture  absolutely  value 
less,  disregarded,  and  forgotten,  but  it  was  a  secret  delight 
to  him  that  these  immaterial  honors  should  elevate  and  em 
bellish  the  young  soldier's  attachment  to  Lilias  and  render 
him  in  her  father's  eyes  more  worthy  of  her.  Being  a 
widower  with  an  only  child,  Jock  Lesly  could  afford  to  care 
little  for  Callum's  lack  of  fortune  or  prospects.  As  he  was 
fond  of  saying  to  himself,  "  Auld  Jock  hinna  warked  for 
naething  !  —  the  little  lassie  isna  sae  tocherless !  "  and  in 
this  view  he  would  redouble  his  haste  to  be  rich  in  the  in 
creasing  opportunities  of  the  Indian  trade.  It  was  this  be 
lated  realization  of  a  change  in  the  sentiments  of  Callum 
and  Lilias  that  made  Jock  Lesly  observe  the  young  fellow 
somewhat  keenly  when  Callum  returned  from  the  upper 
country  with  the  commissioners'  force  and  found  that  she 
had  been  domiciled  here  with  her  father. 

It  was  late  on  a  gray  and  misty  afternoon  when  the  ex 
peditionary  force,  pushing  on  with  added  speed  in  the  fear 
of  being  belated  in  such  close  proximity  to  the  intermediate 
station  in  their  long  march  to  Charlestown,  came  at  last 
within  sight  and  sound  of  Fort  Prince  George,  —  a  grateful 
sight,  the  block -houses  looking  stanch  and  burly  in  the  an 
gles  of  the  four  bastions,  the  ramparts  surmounted  with  tall 
palisades,  all  the  works  trig  and  stout,  having  been  put  in 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  307 

repair  by  Colonel  Grant  the  previous  year  while  he  lay 
here  with  his  army  awaiting  the  overtures  of  the  vanquished 
Cherokees  for  peace.  The  fife  and  drum  resounded  from 
the  works  ;  the  light  glanced  on  the  steel  bayonets  and 
scarlet  uniforms  of  the  men  drawn  up  to  welcome  the  com 
missioners  with  fitting  ceremony,  for  it  was  but  seldom  that 
the  commandant  had  the  opportunity  to  greet  aught  but  wild 
Indians,  and  he  made  the  most  of  the  occasion ;  the  little 
cannon,  of  which  there  were  four  on  each  bastion,  thun 
dered  a  salute,  and  the  troops  presented  arms  as  the  com 
missioners  rode  through*  the  gate.  The  honors  concluded, 
the  escort  and  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison,  breaking  ranks, 
surged  this  way  and  that  about  the  parade,  interchanging 
the  news  from  Charlestown  for  reports  from  the  Tennessee 
River,  and  the  gossip  of  the  barracks  for  the  details  of  the 
various  chances  of  the  march,  while  the  officers  of  the  fort, 
with  evident  convivial  intent,  took  charge  of  the  commis 
sioners  and  Lieutenant  Everard. 

Although  the  barracks  of  Fort  Prince  George  had  accom 
modations  for  a  hundred  men,  the  garrison  often  fell  short 
of  the  complement.  Therefore  it  was  no  surprise  to  Ever 
ard  to  meet  here  orders,  in  view  of  the  disquiet  of  the  upper 
country,  to  leave  to  reinforce  the  garrison  such  men  as  he 
could  spare  from  his  command,  since  the  commissioners  were 
now  on  the  border  of  the  frontier,  and  the  region  through 
which  they  were  yet  to  pass  was  more  or  less  settled  with  a 
white  population  and  with  friendly  Indian  tribes,  the  Chick- 
asaws  and  Catawbas.  Everard  was  instructed  to  select  for 
this  purpose  those  of  the  soldiers  who  could  not  soon  rejoin 
their  regiments  from  which  they  had  been  detached  for  ser 
vice  in  the  Cherokee  country.  Into  this  category  fell  the 
Highland  contingent,  for  the  Forty-Second  had  just  landed 
in  New  York,  —  a  winter  in  garrison  at  Fort  Prince  George 
seemed  a  bitter  contrast.  Everard  was  reminded  of  Callum 
and  his  equivocal  position  as  he  was  going  over  the  roll,  and 


308  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

he  felt  a  qualm  of  regret.  It  was  not  merely  because  of  that 
partisan  Damon-and-Pythias-like  friendship  to  which  young 
men  are  prone,  soldiers  most  of  all,  and  that  this  change 
would  necessitate  their  parting,  but  that  upon  the  lieuten 
ant's  restoration  to  the  fitting  companionship  of  his  brother 
officers  the  man  of  the  ranks  had  of  course  sunk  back  out 
of  notice  and  into  his  proper  place.  Everard  could  not  feel 
himself  to  blame,  yet  the  incongruity  pained  him.  Despite 
Callum's  intrinsic  equality  with  the  best  of  the  officers, 
Everard  knew  that  it  would  be  futile  to  urge  upon  them 
his  own  example  in  the  exceptional  circumstances,  and  in 
deed  this  had  been  fraught  with  much  discomfort  not  to  say 
danger  in  his  instance. 

Nevertheless,  recollecting  the  episode  of  the  Ancient  War 
rior's  disguise  and  the  tender  solicitude  which  the  soldier 
had  shown  for  his  friend's  safety  at  so  great  a  jeopardy  of 
his  own,  risking  not  only  death  but  the  torture,  the  lieuten 
ant  felt  very  kindly  to  Callum  and  was  minded  to  bestow 
upon  him  some  parting  gift.  As  he  was  canvassing  in  gen 
erous  thoughts  the  character  of  this  testimonial,  he  was  be 
set  by  a  sudden  monition  of  the  concomitant  pride  and  pen 
ury  of  the  Highlander.  Everard  would  not  wound  him  on 
either  account  for  the  world.  He  congratulated  himself  as 
on  an  escape,  and  as  he  was  strolling  from  his  quarters  to 
the  mess-hall,  suddenly  meeting  Callum,  he  abruptly  turned 
about  and  passed  his  arm  fraternally  through  the  soldier's. 

"  Come,  Callum  Bane,"  he  said  gayly.  "  I  'm  off  to-mor 
row.  Let 's  go  to  the  trader's  and  get  a  keepsake.  I  '11 
give  you  an  Indian  pipe  if  you  will  give  me  one,  and  as  long 
as  the  Nicotiana  Tabacum  holds  out  to  burn  we  will  never 
forget  the  big  Injun  at  Chilhowee." 

Callum  had  no  sense  of  supersedure  or  resentment  upon 
his  sudden  dismissal  from  his  friend's  society.  He  was  too 
entirely  the  soldier  to  cavil  at  the  obligations  which  the  gra 
dations  of  rank  necessarily  impose.  He  had  himself  some 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  309 

sharp  experience  that  these  restrictions  cannot  be  ignored 
without  involving  a  corresponding  subversion  of  military 
subordination.  Therefore  he  was  not  grudging  nor  envious, 
but  accepted  as  the  natural  sequence  of  events  the  fact  that 
Everard  should  be  happily  carousing  with  the  young  officers 
of  the  garrison  while  he,  so  lately  the  lieutenant's  chosen 
friend,  stood  guard  on  the  ramparts  in  the  chill  midnight. 
Hence  he  cordially  and  smilingly  assented,  and  the  two,  arm 
in  arm,  set  forth  together. 

The  weather  still  held  lowering  and  gloomy.  On  the 
rampart  at  Fort  Prince  George  one  could  scarce  see  through 
the  chill  mists,  and  beyond  the  bare  space  encircling  the 
works,  to  the  dense,  leafless  wilderness.  At  the  verge  of 
these  woods,  and  looking  backward,  one  could  only  make  out 
the  fort  like  a  sketch  in  sepia,  with  its  shadowy  block 
houses,  its  blurred  barrack  roofs  sleek  with  sleet,  its  tall 
palisades  surmounting  the  rampart  with  their  pointed  sum 
mits  serrating  the  gray  sky.  The  only  note  of  color  amidst 
all  the  dreary  neutral  tints  was  the  red  uniform  of  a  squad 
of  soldiers  returning  with  several  deer  from  the  hunt  that 
kept  the  post  in  fresh  meat. 

The  trading-house  was  well  within  sight  of  the  works  and 
close  on  the  river  bank.  The  boughs  of  several  leafless  trees, 
white  with  the  morning's  rime,  although  it  was  now  past 
noon,  swayed  above  its  high  peaked  roof  ;  within  this  seemed 
to  hold  great  merchandise  and  store  of  shadows,  for  however 
the  light  might  stream  in  at  the  broad  barn-like  door,  or  the 
fire  flare  on  the  hearth  at  the  further  extremity,  only  vague 
outlines  of  struts  and  rafters  and  interdependent  timbers 
could  be  seen,  while  from  the  beams  below  swung  various 
goods  appropriate  to  the  time  and  trade,  —  saddles,  bridles, 
ropes,  chains,  blankets,  cloths  of  various  bright  tints  of  red 
and  yellow,  all  interwoven  and  rich  of  effect.  Arms  glit 
tered  on  the  shelves  and  racks  below,  and  axes,  hatchets, 
knives,  —  all  sending  out  a  metallic  glitter  here  and  there 


310  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

as  the  firelight  flickered.  Always  about  this  fire  stood  or 
crouched  at  least  half  a  dozen  braves  of  various  tribes,  revel 
ing  in  its  luxury,  albeit  so  well  inured  to  the  cold  else 
where,  their  presence  necessitating  cautious  surveillance 
from  the  under-traders.  For  the  Indians  of  the  lower  grades, 
it  is  said,  considered  it  no  derogation  to  steal,  but  infamy  to 
be  caught  in  stealing.  A  variety  of  articles  calculated  to 
attract  the  favorable  regards  of  the  officers  and  men  at  the 
fort  were  displayed,  —  buttons,  hose,  buckles,  brushes, 
snuffboxes,  ribbons,  candlesticks  and  snuffers,  mirrors,  gam 
badoes,  —  even  books,  over  the  slow  sale  of  which  Jock 
Lesly  often  shook  his  head.  "  The  carles  at  the  fort  are  no 
readers.'7  Some  exquisite  feather-wrought  mantles,  Indian 
baskets,  hemp-woven  rugs,  and  quaint  pottery  were  offered. 
There  were  a  number  of  stone  pipes  showing  an  extraordi 
nary  skill  in  carving,  for  the  material,  soft  when  quarried, 
hardened  on  exposure  to  the  air.  The  Cherokees  excelled 
all  other  tribes  in  this  branch  of  aboriginal  art,  and  some 
of  their  work  of  this  date  may  now  be  seen  in  museums  or 
decorating  the  rooms  of  historical  societies.  Before  the 
trader's  collection  of  pipes  the  two  friends  paused. 

Jock  Lesly  had  met  Callum  with  no  apparent  diminution 
of  their  earlier  cordiality  when  first  he  had  returned  to  the 
fort.  But  it  nettled  the  proud  Highlander  now  to  observe 
how  obsequious  was  the  trader's  manner  to  Everard,  taking 
scant  notice  of  his  "  far  awa'  kinsman."  And  why  indeed 
should  he  not  be  attentive  to  the  officer  ?  Jock  Lesly  cared 
naught  for  him  but  to  sell  him  an  Indian  pipe,  and  if  the 
one  found  for  him  did  not  please  him  to  diligently  persuade 
him  that  it  did.  "  Surely,  surely,  sir,  a  bonny  bauble.  Here, 
sir,  is  a  fearsome  cur'osity  if  you  favor  the  heejus  in  Injun 
carving.  That,  sir,  —  why  it  stays  in  a  corner,  bein'  broken. 
An'  here,  sir  —  look  at  this  —  a  braw  specimen,  a  real  bit 
of  sculpchur."  As  far  as  Jock  Lesly  was  concerned  John 
Francis  Everard  was  born  and  brought  into  this  world 


A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER  311 

expressly  to  buy  that  pipe,  for  Jock  Lesly  was  essentially 
a  trader  —  so  superior  a  salesman,  in  fact,  with  an  eye  so 
keenly  and  accurately  adjusted  to  the  main  chance,  that 
without  the  least  ceremony  he  abruptly  deserted  them  for  a 
matter  of  more  moment,  and  Callum,  angered  but  an  instant 
since  by  the  adroit  pressure  of  these  small  wares  by  a  man 
able  to  care  naught  whether  the  sale  was  made  or  lost,  was 
inconsistently  irritated,  affronted,  when  Jock  Lesly's  atten 
tion  wavered.  A  couple  of  Indians  bargaining  their  peltry 
for  gear  had  become  embroiled  in  rancorous  words  with  the 
under-trader,  who  was  about  to  lose  his  temper  under  great 
provocation  and,  what  was  worse  in  the  estimation  of  Jock 
Lesly,  the  advantages  of  the  trade.  As  he  stepped  swiftly 
to  the  rescue,  suavely  inquiring  into  the  point  at  issue,  the 
Cherokee  words  embellished  with  his  Scotch  accent,  the  two 
military  men  at  the  counter  where  the  pipes  were  laid  out, 
in  the  design  of  which  they  each  sought  something  reminis 
cent  of  their  experiences  together,  hesitated,  at  a  loss,  and 
a  trifle  out  of  countenance.  Callum  trembled  lest  by  reason 
of  this  cavalier  treatment  aught  disrespectful  of  auld  Jock 
Lesly  pass  the  lips  of  the  officer,  whom  he  supposed  to  be 
entirely  ignorant  of  any  concern  or  interest  that  he  had  in 
the  trader's  household.  But  Jock  Lesly  was  amply  com 
petent  to  maintain  his  own  standing,  and  Everard,  exacting 
as  he  might  be,  was  no  man  to  quarrel  with  a  trader  for 
postponing  the  sale  of  a  trifle  lest  he  lose  the  bargain  for  a 
hundredweight  of  choice  peltry. 

As  they  idly  waited  the  firelight  flickered  in  their  faces ; 
the  steel  of  the  weapons  in  the  racks  flashed  in  long,  slen 
der  lines  about  the  building ;  the  wind,  wet,  fragrant  with 
the  odor  of  bark  and  dead  leaves,  came  in  from  the  wilder 
ness  without  at  the  open  door,  and  set  all  the  gloomy  dusk 
awavering ;  and  suddenly,  as  if  evolved  from  the  necro 
mancy  of  these  immaterial  elements,  a  slight  shape  com 
pounded  of  light  and  shadow,  of  the  sheen  of  golden  hair 


312  A    SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

and  a  dull  brown  dress,  a  pink  and  white  face,  with  dark 
blue  eyes  and  eyelashes  still  darker,  stood  on  the  other  side 
of  the  counter  with  a  submissive  "  What 's  your  wull  ?  " 

Everard  stared  speechless.  Doubtless  the  girl  was  uncom 
monly  pretty,  but  it  had  been  full  three  months  since  he 
had  seen  a  fair  white  brow  in  a  woman,  a  blue  eye,  and  a 
wealth  of  curling  blond  hair.  She  looked  in  the  shadow  an 
angel  for  beauty,  a  princess  for  dignity,  and  a  nun  for  ascetic 
gravity.  Yet  she  was  only  the  trader's  daughter,  ably  sec 
onding  her  father,  whose  heart  she  knew  must  be  fairly  rent 
for  failure  of  the  opportunity  to  sell  the  pipes.  "  John, 
Duncan,  Malcom,"  he  had  roared,  and  they  came  not;  there 
fore  gliding  out  from  some  hidden  recess  appeared  Lilias. 

Once  more  Callum  trembled  for  the  false  position,  for  in 
stantly  the  handsome  Everard  must  needs  seek  to  commend 
himself  personally,  and  essay  the  language  of  gallantry. 

"This  represents,  you  say,  an  Indian  queen  with  black 
locks,"  he  said,  turning  over  in  his  hand  one  of  the  pipes 
curiously  tinted  that  she  had  offered.  "  I  should  not  care 
for  that.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  only  hair  for  beauty  is 
yellow,  gilded  as  if  with  refined  gold." 

He  boldly  lifted  his  handsome  eyes  to  her  fair  tresses 
devoid  of  the  concealing  cap  of  the  fashion  and  rolled, 
richly  waving,  high  up  from  her  forehead  and  held  with  a 
blue  ribbon. 

She  did  not  even  change  color.  It  seemed  that  the  image 
carved  on  the  stone  pipe  might  have  smiled  as  readily.  She 
only  laid  it  aside  with  supreme  gravity  as  a  rejected  com 
modity,  and  he  was  at  once  ill  at  ease,  for  he  would  have 
liked  well  to  own  it. 

"  May  I  ask  you  to  choose  one  for  me  and  one  for  my 
friend,"  he  persisted  in  the  personal  note,  partly  to  cover 
his  confusion.  Then  he  added,  "  You  understand  the  degree 
of  aboriginal  art  they  represent  and  what  is  most  worth 
while." 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  313 

If  he  had  expected  to  prolong  the  interview  by  reason  of 
her  vacillations  in  the  discharge  of  this  commission,  he  was 
mistaken.  In  two  minutes  he  was  furnished  with  an  effigy 
of  the  head  of  a  warrior  crowned  with  a  war-bonnet.  Through 
its  rudely  simulated  circle  of  feathers  the  smoke  would  curl 
as  if  merely  an  extension  of  their  flamboyant  glories.  Cal- 
lum  had  assigned  to  him  a  similitude  of  a  bird,  curiously 
wrought  and  with  an  elaborately  decorated  stem.  Then 
she  suddenly  vanished,  as  if  a  vision  of  such  delicate  con 
sistency  could  hardly  withstand  the  freshening  of  the  breeze. 
As  it  came  in,  flaring  the  fire  and  fluttering  the  fine  show 
of  fabrics  swinging  from  the  beams  and  circling  about  the 
building,  it  seemed  as  if  it  had  extinguished  the  fair  and 
dainty  fancy  that  she  must  have  been. 

"  The  trader's  beautiful  daughter,  Miss  Lilias,  no  doubt," 
said  Everard  to  Callum  in  a  low  voice,  as  they  turned  to 
settle  for  the  pipes  with  Jock  Lesly. 

Although  so  low  a  voice,  her  father  heard  it. 

"And  I  should  be  glad  to  know,  sir,  from  whom  you 
had  her  name  so  pat  upon  your  tongue?"  he  demanded 
surlily. 

He  could  not  have  said  why,  but  he  was  angered  by  the 
phrase,  "  the  trader's  beautiful  daughter,"  although  he  was 
not  expected  to  overhear  it.  With  his  mind  averse  to  Cal 
lum  as  it  had  lately  grown,  he  speculated  upon  the  possi 
bility  that  it  was  he  who  had  descanted  upon  her  beauty  to 
this  young  lordling,  and  that  Everard,  perhaps,  had  caused 
himself  to  be  brought  here  that  he  might  judge  for  himself. 

For  once  Callum  subjected  himself  to  no  misapprehension. 
"  I  hae  never  mentioned  her  name,"  he  said  stiffly. 

"  No,  no,  indeed ! "  protested  Everard  hastily ;  for  al 
though  he  revolted  at  the  pother  over  so  slight  a  matter  as 
he  esteemed  it,  he  wished  to  occasion  no  awkwardness  to  Cal 
lum,  whose  position  seemed  to  bristle  with  unexpected  diffi 
culties.  "  I  never  heard  of  her  from  Callum —  nor  from  any 


314  A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

one  at  the  fort.  She  —  your  daughter,  Miss  Lilias  —  was 
mentioned  to  me  by  a  Virginian  whom  we  saw  in  the  Over- 
hill  towns  —  who  claimed  to  be  well  acquainted  with  you. 
His  name  was  —  Tarn  Wilson  —  was  it  not,  Callum  ?  " 

"  I  dinna  ken  his  name,"  said  the  dour  Callum  shortly. 

"  Ou,  ay  —  Tam  Wilson  —  I  mind  Tarn  W7ilson  weel 
enow,"  said  the  trader  curtly,  his  red  face  now  blotched 
with  white. 

He  took  his  money  for  the  pipes,  and  as  the  two  young 
men  trudged  away  in  the  closing  mist  he  took  himself  to 
task.  He  did  not  know  what  he  would  be  at,  he  said  to  him 
self.  He  could  not  expect  the  trader's  beautiful  daughter 
Lilias  never  to  be  mentioned  among  young  men  —  why,  the 
girl  was  celebrated  for  her  beauty  wherever  she  went.  But 
somehow  he  knew  that  if  Callum  had  been  seriously  in  love 
he  was  of  that  earnest,  reserved  nature  that  would  have 
guarded  her  name  from  other  lips  as  if  it  had  been  a  sacred 
thing  ;  that  her  beauty  would  have  been  to  him  only  an  inci 
dent  of  her  personality,  dear  because  it  characterized  her, 
and  never  to  be  vaunted  abroad  by  him. 

Analyzing  thus  his  anger,  Jock  Lesly  discovered  that  he 
was  not  excited  because  her  name  was  mentioned,  but  be 
cause  he  thought  that  it  had  come  from  Callum.  This 
marked  the  measure  of  disappointment  and  discontent  he 
experienced,  to  suspect  that  Callum's  attachment  to  Lilias 
was  not  of  the  serious  nature  hitherto  supposed. 

"But  hegh,  sirs,"  he  said  to  himself,  "it's  no  for  the 
puir  callant's  betterment  that  the  lassie's  father  hae  aye  a 
kind  heart  till  him  when  Lilias  hersel'  looks  so  glum  an' 
dour  at  him.  I  marked  the  glance  o'  her  eye  whilst  I  was 
dealin'  with  thae  carles  o'  Injuns.  Lord  —  Lord!"  he  ex 
claimed  in  dismay,  "  man  is  but  mortal  an'  fitted  for  mortal 
wark !  I  canna  trade  wi'  the  Injuns  an'  yet  hae  the  wis 
dom  an'  leadin'  to  guide  the  luve  affairs  o'  that  freakish 
Lilias,  that  I  'se  warrant  dinna  ken  her  own  mind !  I  'se 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  315 

e'en  commit  it  a'  to  Providence,  that  dootless  hae  mair 
experience  than  this  puir  tradin'  body,  that  disna  even  ken 
what  will  become  o'  the  station  if  they  still  baud  otters  at 
the  price  they  are  askin'  the  noo !  " 

Having  thus  discharged  his  mind  of  the  responsibility, 
although  now  and  again  he  sighed  heavily  because  of  the 
soreness  that  the  stress  of  his  anxiety  had  left  in  his  con 
sciousness,  he  busied  himself  in  the  multitude  of  his  duties, 
ever  and  anon  returning  to  the  haranguing  of  Duncan  and 
Malcom  and  John,  that  they  should  have  all  been  out  of 
the  way  and  left  him  with  no  one  to  wait  on  a  wheen  o? 
callants  frae  the  fort,  it  requiring  both  himself  and  Dougal 
to  drive  a  bargain  with  the  discerning  chief  of  Nequassee. 

This  line  of  thought  bringing  up  again  the  recollection 
of  Callum's  offended  face  and  wounded  mien  because  of 
his  ungracious  and  groundless  suspicions,  Jock  Lesly  grew 
pricked  in  conscience  and  desirous  to  be  reconciled  formally. 

"  Zounds ! "  he  muttered,  "  I  maun  hae  my  friends, 
Lilias  or  no  Lilias,  an'  the  man  is  my  far  awa'  cousin  — 
sae  far  awa'  it  canna  be  counted  —  but  that 's  neither  here 
nor  there.  Hegh,  Duncan,"  he  called  out,  "ye  can  gae  ower 
to  the  fort  an'  ask  Callum  Macllvesty  if  he  '11  no  sup  wi? 
me  the  night  if  he  isna  on  duty." 

It  had  been  Callum's  impression  during  the  few  days  that 
he  had  now  been  at  the  fort  that  the  trader's  domicile  must 
be  one  of  the  unoccupied  cabins  within  the  works,  for  he 
knew  that  during  the  earlier  alarms  of  the  Cherokee  War 
certain  houses  had  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  set 
tlers'  families  nocking  there  for  safety.  In  his  opinion  this 
would  have  been  much  the  safest  method  of  sheltering  the 
trader's  family,  but  his  invitation  to  the  domestic  board  at 
the  trading-house  itself  was  a  definite  negation  to  this  sup 
position. 

"  Surely  auld  Jock  is  clean  wud,"  he  said  to  himself  as, 
furnished  duly  with  leave,  he  went  out  from  the  fort  and 


316  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

crossing  the  bridge  of  the  fosse  took  his  way  over  the  glacis 
beyond  the  fields  and  those  broad  spaces  filled  with  the 
stumps  of  the  trees  which  Grant's  troops  had  felled  while 
the  army  lay  in  camp  outside  the  works. 

He  stumbled  over  one  of  these,  so  dim  was  the  light  of 
the  chilly,  misty  dusk.  As  he  regained  his  footing  he  turned 
to  look  back  at  the  fort.  It  was  but  dimly  outlined  against 
the  dreary  evening  sky ;  a  steady  gleam  of  light  came  from 
the  window  of  the  guard-house  near  the  gate,  while  hover 
ing  above  the  works  was  a  vague  suffusion  of  rays  that  doubt 
less  issued  from  various  undiscriminated  sources,  —  doors 
ajar,  unseen  windows,  a  lantern  perchance  swinging  here  and 
there, —  all  combining  in  this  faint,  dimly  discerned  aureola 
beneath  the  dense,  overpowering  weight  of  the  blackness  of 
the  night.  He  heard  the  sentinel  challenge  the  officer  of  the 
day  on  his  rounds  and  then  the  measured  tramp  as  the 
guard  turned  out.  The  lonely  wind  was  sighing  among 
the  sad,  rifled  woods ;  the  river's  dash  over  the  rocks  that 
fretted  its  currents  came  distinct  to  his  ears ;  and  just  as 
he  was  thinking  that  without  more  guidance  in  the  dark 
ening  gloom  he  might  walk  off  its  steep  bluffs  he  perceived 
suddenly  a  light  in  front  of  him  and  heard  the  opening  of  a 
door.  He  was  already  at  the  trading-house,  and  here  was 
Jock  Lesly  coming  out  to  speculate  on  his  delay,  but  seeing 
him  at  hand,  he  pretermitted  this  to  reprove  his  tardi 
ness. 

"  Hout,  man !  ye  '11  get  no  sic  vivers  at  the  fort  as  I 
sail  set  before  ye !  My  certie,  when  I  was  your  age  the 
board  ne'er  waited  for  my  teeth  to  be  sharpened." 

There  was,  however,  no  convivial  board  spread  in  the 
trading-house,  where  Callum  now  expected  to  see  it.  While 
he  waited  for  Jock  Lesly  to  rearrange  a  barricade  at  the  door 
which  could  not  be  removed  from  without  except  with  great 
clamor,  he  noted  instead  that  the  fire  had  died  down  almost 
to  embers.  Only  now  and  again  a  feeble  white  flare,  start- 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  317 

ing  up  from  a  mass  of  red  coals,  showed  the  proportions  and 
usage  of  the  trading-house,  and  set  up  such  a  flicker  among 
the  glancing  arms  and  swaying  fabrics  as  gave  an  uncom 
fortable  suggestion  of  half  seen  figures  lurking  and  ready  to 
spring. 

"  Hegh,  callant,"  cried  Jock  Lesly's  voice  with  a  tremor 
of  relish  and  triumph  in  the  disclosure  he  meditated. 
"  Come  along,  and  we  'se  see  what  we  7se  see  !  " 

Lighting  a  lantern  he  pulled  aside  a  secret  door  in  the 
counter,  and  as  he  crept  into  the  box-like  place,  Callum 
Macllvesty  heard  the  sound  of  another  door  opening  in  the 
flooring.  The  swaying  light  in  the  hand  of  the  host  began 
to  slowly  descend,  and  the  young  Highlander,  following 
closely,  bidden  to  slam  the  door  of  the  counter  behind  him, 
found  with  his  feet  the  rungs  of  a  ladder  but  dimly  dis 
cerned  as  the  lantern  swung.  Presently,  however,  there  was 
scant  need  of  this  humble  illumination.  A  gush  of  red  light 
from  below  revealed  the  long  extent  of  the  ladder,  a  stone 
floor  at  the  bottom,  the  walls  of  a  grotto  of  impenetrable 
unbroken  rock,  and  naught  besides.  A  projection  of  the 
rugged  wall  like  a  buttress  shielded  the  apartment  from  view, 
while  they  themselves  were  fully  visible  throughout  their 
descent.  Jock  Lesly  barely  gave  the  young  fellow  time  to 
leap  down  without  touching  the  last  half  dozen  rungs,  and 
lowered  the  ladder  swiftly  by  means  of  a  rope  and  pulley  ; 
the  door  which  it  had  held  open  shut  quickly,  and  if  a 
man  should  seek  to  lift  it  or  to  descend  thence,  he  could 
be  picked  off  by  a  rifle  from  below  before  he  could  gain  a 
glimpse  of  the  place  beneath  or  the  group  in  the  chamber 
beyond.  If  an  intrusive  foot  should  be  placed  on  the  lad 
der  when  in  position,  a  mere  touch  from  below  would  dis 
lodge  that  structure,  and  the  invader,  falling  from  the  great 
height,  pay  for  his  temerity  with  his  life. 

This  was  a  device  put  into  practice  by  those  constrained 
to  dwell  among  the  inimical  Indians  in  Tennessee,  both  be- 


318  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

fore  and  afterward,  but  to  Callum  it  was  an  undreamed-of 
expedient,  and  he  must  needs  pause  to  admire  the  complete 
ness  of  its  features  before  Jock  Lesly,  pointing  them  out  in 
detail,  would  permit  him  to  turn  to  survey  the  subterranean 
home. 

"  The  conies  are  but  a  feeble  folk,  yet  make  they  their 
houses  in  the  rock,"  the  trader  quoted. 

A  lofty  but  narrow  chamber  had  its  elements  of  comfort. 
Hickory  logs  were  flaring  in  a  great  fireplace,  and  remember 
ing  the  plan  of  the  building  above  Callum  realized  that  the 
flue  connected  with  the  chimney  of  the  trading-house,  and 
thus  no  smoke  or  light  betrayed  the  cavern  to  the  Indians  or, 
if  it  were  already  known  to  them,  this  usage  of  it.  The 
walls,  roof,  and  floor,  of  rock  of  unimaginable  thickness,  were 
without  a  break,  save  that  on  the  side  next  the  river,  in  a 
passage  like  an  anteroom,  was  a  series  of  apertures  high 
among  the  shadows  and  round  like  portholes,  affording  ample 
ventilation,  —  a  curiosity  that  occurs  here  and  there  among 
the  bluffs  of  this  region,  relics  of  some  forgotten  cataclysmal 
period  when  the  outbursting  waters  sculptured  the  rocks. 
Beyond  another  arch  or  tunnel  seemed  a  more  limited  cham 
ber  adjoining  the  main  grotto,  whence  a  golden  glow  of 
lamplight  betokened  occupation,  and  a  wooden  partition 
and  door  added  to  its  seclusion.  "  A  cubby  hole  yon  where 
Lilias  sleeps  an'  keeps  her  bit  duds,  an'  rins  awa'  to  sulk, 
an'  here  on  this  end  is  a  passage  where  the  gillies  foregather 
an'  ane  always  is  on  watch  to  guard  the  door.  An'  this 
big  room  is  the  parlor,  an'  we  sit  here  to  receive  our  com 
pany  like  gentles.  Hegh,  callant,  if  we  had  only  had  sic  a 
ha'  house  on  the  sweet  Tennessee  Eiver !  " 

Before  the  fire  now  Lilias  sat  as  if  she  were  indeed  in 
some  safely  guarded  and  softly  lined  parlor.  She  was  ar 
rayed  in  a  brilliant  yet  dainty  gown  of  striped  sarcenet,  blue 
and  white,  with  pink  roses  scattered  at  intervals  down  the 
white  stripe.  Her  shining  golden  hair  was  rolled  high 


A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER  319 

from  her  forehead  and  a  long  thick  curl  hung  to  her  shoulder 
at  one  side.  An  embroidered  cape  of  sheer  cambric  made 
visible  the  white  neck  that  it  affected  to  shield.  Her  feet 
were  cased  in  high-heeled  red  slippers,  over  one  of  which 
the  old  collie  had  put  a  restraining  paw,  that  she  might  not 
move  without  his  knowledge,  as  he  lay  on  the  rug  beside 
her  spinning  wheel.  She  was  now  busy  with  this  little  flax 
wheel,  while  the  supper  was  cooking  under  the  ministrations 
of  an  elderly  wrinkled  Scotch  dame,  the  mother  of  one  of 
the  gillies,  who  officiated  in  the  household  in  many  capacities, 
—  cook,  laundress,  dairy  woman,  —  and  not  the  least  valued 
by  Jock  Lesly  as  his  adviser  how  to  manage  the  fractious 
Lilias,  whose  nurse  she  had  been. 

"  Gude  guide  us  !  "  she  would  exclaim.  "  Maun  ye  al 
ways  be  harryin'  the  bairn's  life  out  ?  Let  her  alane  !  Let 
her  alane !  or  else  since  ye  are  sae  cruel  jus'  tak  your  big 
fist  an'  knock  her  harns  out  at  ance  !  " 

Thus  berated  Jock  Lesly  would  feel  that  he  was  indeed 
a  disciplinarian  and  must  needs  moderate  his  severities,  or 
Luckie  Meg,  as  she  was  called,  would  be  telling  at  the  fort 
and  elsewhere  how  he  tyrannized  over  his  household. 

Here  Lilias,  in  the  unbounded  wisdom  of  eighteen  years, 
had  elected  to  set  up  her  staff,  and  hither  had  she  transported 
the  bulk  of  her  effects.  She  ordered  her  life  much  as  she 
would  if  yet  in  Charlestown,  and  seemed  incongruously  con 
tent.  If  the  sight  of  her  in  her  plain  dark  brown  serge 
had  been  overwhelming  to  Everard,  what  would  be  the  effect 
of  this  vision  of  dainty  loveliness  Callum  wondered. 

Very  serious  she  was  when  she  sat  at  the  table,  with  a 
sort  of  absolute  impervious  dignity  that  was  not  even  im 
paired  when  the  collie  stood  up  on  his  hindlegs  beside  her 
chair  with  his  fore  paws  on  the  cloth,  looking  about  him 
with  eager  curiosity,  and  betraying  like  an  ill-bred  child 
that  there  were  more  elaborate  "  vivers  "  for  this  occasion 
than  he  was  in  the  habit  of  seeing.  Callum  could  hear  the 


820  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

rushing  of  the  river  so  close  outside  that  he  thought  their 
cavern  of  refuge  must  be  lower  than  the  surface  of  the  water. 
The  flames  flared  and  roared  up  the  chimney ;  the  young 
packmen  or  gillies  laughed  and  talked  with  muttered  gibes 
and  boyish  sniggers  and  chuckles  in  their  anteroom  ;  the 
shadows  flickered  over  the  lofty  vault ;  Jock  Lesly  was 
once  more  his  old  genial  self,  and  Callum  felt  that  the  fort 
was  so  far  away  that  it  was  garrisoned  in  another  existence, 
that  the  Indians  were  extinct,  that  sorrow  and  pain  and  loss 
were  but  the  untoward  incidents  of  an  old  dream  called  life, 
and  that  he  had  entered  into  Paradise,  —  a  bit  doubtful,  a 
bit  tremulous,  a  bit  prayerful,  and  very  humble,  for  Lilias, 
though  quite  casual,  though  only  carelessly  kind,  had  smiled 
at  him ! 

"  Tarn  Wilson,  now,"  said  Jock  Lesly. 

And  all  at  once  this  grim  old  world  of  troubles  and  fears, 
of  grief  and  gloom,  had  whisked  back  again. 

"  Now  that  chiel,  Tarn  Wilson  ! "  reiterated  Jock  Lesly. 

He  was  amazingly  comfortable,  the  trader,  still  sitting  at 
the  table  thrown  back  in  a  seat,  cleverly  constructed  to  imi 
tate  a  cushioned  armchair,  drinking  Scotch  whiskey  till  the 
smell  of  the  peat  of  the  still  fires  seemed  to  fill  the  room, 
and  then  a  fine  French  brandy  that  but  inflamed  his  patri 
otism  and  insular  prejudice.  "What's  that  callant  doing 
all  this  long  time  in  the  Cherokee  country  ?  " 

,  Callum  glanced  down  at  the  firelight  flashing  through 
his  own  glass,  now  like  a  ruby  and  now  like  a  topaz.  He 
dared  not  meet  the  eyes  of  Lilias.  But  when  he  looked  up 
at  last,  as  he  needs  must  at  a  repetition  of  the  question,  she 
was  busied  with  a  comfit. 

"  I  hae  my  ain  thoughts,"  he  said. 

Jock  Lesly  was  beginning  to  nod.  It  had  been  a  long 
hard  day,  and  now  warmth  and  comfort  and  "  vivers  "  and 
brandy  were  telling  on  his  powers  of  discrimination. 

"  Seems  strange !    Eemember  Callum,"  he  said  suddenly, 


A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER  321 

"  how  af eared  o'  Moy  Toy  the  callant  was  !  "  He  laughed 
sleepily.  "  He  fairly  pined  to  get  us  out  o'  reach  o'  "  — 
He  paused,  nodding. 

Once  more  Callum  glanced  furtively  at  Lilias.  She  sat 
idly  toying  with  her  spoon  in  the  red  glow,  her  blue  and 
white  apparel,  her  golden  head,  her  glimmering  neck  and 
shoulders,  half  revealed  by  their  sheer  broideries,  all  inde 
scribably  dainty,  fairy-like  of  effect  amid  these  rude  sur 
roundings.  Her  soft  and  delicate  countenance  was  calm, 
inexpressive,  inscrutable. 

"  Hegh,  Callum,'7  said  Jock  Lesly,  seizing  the  subject 
again  in  a  waking  interval,  "that  captain-lieutenant  — 
what 's  his  name  ?  Everard  ?  Aye,  Everard !  A-weel, 
Everard  was  saying  that  chiel  was  bein*  passed  off  on  him 
for  a  Frenchy.  Hegh  !  my  certie  1  Tarn  Wilson  a  Frenchy 
—  Johnny  Crapaud  "  — 

His  head  fell  more  definitely  forward  —  he  was  gone  at 
last;  the  low  luxurious  susurrus  of  his  breath,  almost  a 
snore,  filled  the  room  at  regular  intervals. 

Afterward  Callum  could  not  appraise  the  impulse,  the  in 
stinct,  that  animated  him.  The  room  had  dulled  to  a  deep 
crimson  glow  ;  in  the  waning  light  of  the  fire  the  gray 
walls  of  the  cave  showed  without  shadows,  for  the  light  was 
not  so  strong  as  to  duplicate  an  image.  Luckie  Meg  slept 
on  her  stool  by  the  hearth,  the  collie  snored  under  the  table, 
the  gillies  were  silent  in  the  antechamber;  the  only  sugges 
tion  of  the  world  outside  was  the  sound  of  the  river  rushing 
on  like  life  to  its  ultimate  destination,  to  be  lost  in  the  tides 
of  the  sea  like  eternity.  In  the  red  gloom  Callum  was 
hardly  aware  if  her  face  were  yet  so  distinct,  or  because  in 
his  memory  never  a  shadow  could  rest  upon  it. 

He  gazed  directly  into  her  eyes  and  beheld  them  dilate 
expectantly. 

"  You  knew  that  he  was  French,  Lilias.  You  knew  it 
all  the  time  !  " 


322  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

She  replied  as  to  an  accusation.  "  No  —  not  all  the 
time  —  no  —  Callum  !  " 

"  And  you  knew  how  I  loved  you  —  so  long  —  so  true 
—  never  one  else  — never  another  thought !  And  to  cast 
me  aside  for  him  —  for  him  !  A  spy,  an  emissary,  sent  to 
spirit  up  the  Indians  against  the  frontier  —  for  the  hideous 
massacres  of  women  and  children." 

"  He  declared  it  was  not  for  that.  He  said  his  govern 
ment  only  sought  to  utilize  the  Indians  in  the  same  way 
that  the  English  hae  used  them  in  our  armies,  as  soldiers. 
He  only  obeyed  his  orders,  as  you  do  yours  —  being  a  sol 
dier,  forbye  an  officer." 

"An  officer!  0  Lilias,  war  is  one  thing  and  this  is 
another !  " 

"  I  think  like  you,  Callum  ;  though  after  I  heard  him 
tell  his  plan  it  didna  seem  the  same ;  that  is  —  forbye  "  — 
Lilias  hesitated,  sore  beset  —  "I  could  see  how  it  all  had 
a  different  face  to  him.  An'  he  was  na  cruel  to  us  —  he 
keepit  the  Injuns  aff  us." 

"  Because  the  French  plans  were  not  ripe  enough  for  our 
murder  then  —  and  Lilias,  you  knew  it !  And  let  your 
father  warm  this  serpent  by  his  hearth  —  in  his  bosom  !  " 

"  I  didna  ken  it  at  first.  No,  Callum,"  exclaimed  Lilias, 
eager  in  self-defense,  her  own  fealty  to  the  hamely  ingle-neuk 
in  question,  "No,  and  not  till  the  last,"  she  protested, 
her  voice  trembling  as  she  remembered  that  he  had  offered 
to  renounce  king  and  country,  duty  and  honor  for  her.  This 
was  not  Tarn  Wilson,  however.  Tarn  Wilson  would  never 
have  done  this.  And  it  was  Tarn  Wilson  who  had  been  so 
dear! 

"  He  told  me  at  the  last !  —  the  last  day  but  twa  or 
three  !  —  or  else  I  couldna  hae  abided  him !  " 

Callum,  fingering  his  glass,  looked  off  drearily  into  the 
glowing  mass  of  red  coals.  He  was  recalling  the  details  of 
that  memorable  journey,  —  those  days  when  she  declared 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  323 

that  she  had  had  dreams.  Dreams,  dear  indeed,  since  their 
tenuity  warranted  the  bitter  realities  of  those  hot  despair 
ing  tears.  Dreams,  alas,  which  could  not  come  true  !  Cal- 
lum  doubted  if  his  persistence  had  won  for  him  much  of 
value,  —  the  certainty  that  she  had  wept  for  Tarn  Wilson, 
because  he  was  not  —  Tarn  Wilson  ! 

Jock  Lesly  was  beginning  to  stir.  He  snorted,  yawned, 
stretched  his  arms,  then  sat  up  straight  and  opened  his  eyes. 
The  walls  of  the  cavern  first  caught  his  attention.  "  Hegh, 
Callum  lad,  this  is  like  thae  auld  days  fowk  are  sae  fond 
o'  talkin'  about,  the  Feifteen  an'  the  Forty-five,  when  the 
attainted  Jacobites  hid  about  in  caves  an'  hollows,  an'  lime 
kilns  an'  cellars.  Kemind  ye  o'  it  ?  " 

Callum  slowly  appraised  the  glowing  dream-light,  the 
luxurious  warmth,  the  comfortable  "  vivers,"  the  half  emp 
tied  decanters,  and  thought  of  the  ditch  in  the  moorland 
and  the  crevice  in  the  mountain,  the  cold  and  the  starva 
tion,  the  loss  of  fortune  and  favor,  the  end  in  exile  or  on  the 
scaffold.  No — he  could  not  just  say  that  he  was  reminded 
of  it. 

And  as  Jock  Lesly  was  about  to  demonstrate  the  points 
of  similarity  in  the  situation  a  sudden  iterative  throbbing 
shook  the  earth,  and  the  Highlander  sprang  to  his  feet,  re 
cognizing  the  vibrations  of  the  drum  beating  the  tattoo,  and 
saying  that  he  would  have  a  run  for  it  to  reach  the  fort, 
the  barracks,  and  bed  by  taps. 


XVI 

THE  detachment  of  Highlanders  that  Lieutenant  Everard 
left  to  reinforce  Fort  Prince  George  proved  of  no  great  in 
terest  to  the  troops  already  stationed  there  pining  in  the 
weariness  of  long  inaction.  The  natural  expectation  of  the 
revival  of  zest  in  life  incident  to  new  companionship,  fresh 
experiences,  stories  still  untold,  and  songs  as  yet  unsung 
all  fell  flat  in  the  reality ;  for  few  of  the  newcomers  could 
speak  aught  but  the  Gaelic,  and  they  clung  together  with  a 
pertinacity  and  a  suspiciousness  of  the  "  Sassenach  sidier," 
with  whom  they  were  thus  unequally  yoked,  that  threatened 
faction  in  the  little  garrison.  Hence,  to  accustom  them  to 
their  new  comrades  and  break  up  the  clique  whenever  it 
was  possible,  the  Highlanders  were  separately  detailed  to  duty 
among  the  English,  although  on  parade,  at  roll  call,  and  afc 
drill  they  were  segregated  and  kept  within  their  own  ranks. 

Callum  Macllvesty  was  one  of  the  few  who  could  speak 
English ;  but  although,  being  a  "  gentleman  ranker,"  his 
lowly  station  involved  association  with  his  military  equals, 
he  seemed  hardly  likely  to  contribute  notably  to  the  mirth 
of  nations.  He  was  preoccupied,  gravely  brooding  much 
of  the  time,  and  even  when  roused  showed  a  temperament 
averse  to  the  familiar  horseplay  of  the  jocund  Britisher. 
Among  his  Scotch  comrades  he  was  little  subject  to  the  irk 
some  constraints  of  his  position  as  a  common  soldier.  They 
could  gauge  and  realize  his  claims  to  a  higher  station, 
and,  more  than  conceding  them,  showed  him  a  consideration 
and  respect  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed  from  his  earli 
est  youth.  He  returned  their  kindness,  which  thus  mani- 


A  BPECTRE  OF  POWER  325 

fested  a  touch  of  the  magnanimous,  with  earnest  fellow 
feeling,  and  his  relations  with  them  were  affectionate  and 
even  fraternal.  To  the  English  contingent  at  the  fort,  how 
ever,  he  was  merely  "  a  hare-kneed  Sawney  who  held  his 
head  stiff  and  stepped  high,"  with  no  justification  that  they 
could  discriminate,  for  he,  like  them,  shouldered  a  musket 
for  pay. 

Even  in  this  humhle  station  it  seemed  to  him  that  fortune 
was  singularly  adverse,  and  that  his  enforced  absence  from 
his  regiment  had  cost  him  the  signal  opportunity  of  his  life 
to  achieve  distinction  or  aught  of  value.  Recovering  from 
a  wound,  but  yet  unfit  for  duty,  he  had  been  granted  a  fur 
lough  early  in  the  year,  which  he  had  spent  at  Jock  Lesly's 
trading-house,  and  afterward,  at  the  moment  of  eager  expecta 
tion  of  sailing  to  join  the  Forty-Second  in  the  West  Indies, 
he  had  been  ordered  with  the  small  detachment  of  Highland 
ers  in  Charlestown  to  reinforce  the  commissioners'  escort 
because  of  previous  familiarity  with  the  Cherokee  country. 
While  he  was  engaged  in  this  distasteful  pacific  duty, 
Moro  Castle  had  been  carried  by  storm  and  the  city  of 
Havanna  had  capitulated,  and  the  Forty-Second,  returning 
to  America,  was  flushed  with  victory  and  elated  with  glory. 
There  was  to  be  no  more  fighting,  it  seemed,  and  in  this 
tame  inaction  the  winter  at  Fort  Prince  George  was  but  a 
dreary  prospect. 

The  inglorious  return  of  the  commissioners'  force  from 
the  Cherokee  country,  and  the  futile  arrest  which  Everard 
had  attempted,  were  matters  of  great  moment  to  the  gar 
rison,  lying  as  it  did  within  the  borders  of  the  Cherokee 
possessions ;  but  since  the  event  had  been  all  bloodless,  the 
defeat  had  been  esteemed  something  of  a  farce.  The  Eng 
lish  soldiers  of  the  escort,  who  could  understand  the  fun 
poked  at  them,  one  of  the  essential  constituents  of  mirth 
ful  ridicule,  had  been  mercilessly  guyed  before  their  depar 
ture  for  Charlestown  j  and  one  memorable  night  the  subject 


326  A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

came  up  anew  in  the  guard-room,  when,  in  pursuance  of 
the  plan  of  detailing  the  Highlanders  to  duty  separately 
among  the  English,  Callum  chanced  to  be  one  of  the  main- 
guard. 

The  firelight  from  the  great  stone  chimney  place  flashed 
on  the  whitewashed  walls  and  with  a  metallic  glitter  was 
reflected  from  the  stack  of  arms,  in  the  centre  of  the  punch 
eon  floor,  ready  for  instant  use,  although  the  cry  "  Guard, 
turn  out ! "  seemed  many  hours  distant  down  the  watches 
of  the  night,  unless  indeed  some  unforeseen  chance  should 
betide.  There  were  several  bunks  against  the  wall,  which 
were  somewhat  superfluous  at  this  hour,  for  at  night  the 
guard  were  not  permitted  to  seek  repose  thereon,  although 
not  a  vigilant  eye  should  be  closed.  A  large  door  led  with 
out  to  the  parade,  and  a  smaller  one  gave  upon  an  inner 
apartment  which  bore  the  huge  lock  common  to  that  day 
and  a  curiosity  in  this.  The  key  was  evidently  turned 
upon  some  wight  who  had  found  liberty  joyous  while  it 
lasted,  and  who  now  and  again  sent  forth  drunken  snatches 
of  song,  occasionally  varied  with  vociferous  affectations  of 
woe,  weeping  and  sniffling  and  groaning  by  merry  turns, 
till  a  freshened  joyous  impulse  would  set  the  catch  trolling 
once  more. 

The  group  about  the  guard-room  fire  took  slight  note  of 
these  aberrations  from  the  regulation  deportment  appropriate 
to  the  role  of  melancholy  prisoner.  They  were  all  used  to 
these  frequent  incarcerations  of  their  jolly  comrade,  and 
realized  that  the  rigor  of  his  punishment  would  befall  him 
when  he  should  be  sober  enough  to  profit  by  it. 

A  heavy  rain  beating  tumultuously  against  the  walls  and 
splashing  from  the  eaves  added  zest  to  the  luxury  of  the 
great  blazing  logs  and  the  talk  of  the  group  ranged  around 
on  the  broad  hearth  of  flagstones. 

"An7  d>  ye  mean  to  say,  Callum,"  began  a  leathern-visaged, 
weather-beaten  soldier,  the  corporal  of  the  guard,  leaning 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  327 

his  elbows  on  his  knees  as  he  sat  on  a  great  billet  of  wood, 
"  that  as  soon  as  old  Moy  Toy  sneezed  three  times  your 
Lieutenant  Everard  give  the  word  'Doiible-quick  while  ye 
can  !  Forward,  by  the  rear  / '  and  the  whole  command  faced 
right  about  and  footed  it  out  of  the  Cherokee  country  ?  " 

He  winked  jovially  at  the  others  as  the  big  Highlander, 
half  reclining  on  the  floor  at  one  side  of  the  hearth,  turned 
his  head  slowly  and  came  gradually  to  a  realization  of  his 
surroundings. 

"I  said  naething  o'  the  sort,  an'  ye  ken  it  full  weel," 
Callum  replied  gruffly. 

"  That 's  not  the  way  to  answer  your  superior  officer,'' 
the  jolly  corporal  admonished  him,  with  a  leer. 

"  Ye  never  asked  no  sic  a  f ule  question  as  my  superior 
officer,"  Callum  deigned  to  respond  after  a  pause.  "Ask 
me  now  if  my  firelock  is  clean  an'  my  cartouch  box  is  ready, 
an'  I  'se  gie  ye  a  ceevil  answer ;  but  my  superior  officer  hae 
naught  to  do  wi'  Moy  Toy's  sneeshin'." 

"  There  !  "  exclaimed  the  corporal  with  the  affectation  of 
delighted  triumph  and  discovery.  "  He  have  said  it !  He 
said  that  Moy  Toy  sneezed  and  fairly  frighted  Lieutenant 
Everard  out  of  the  Cherokee  country  !  " 

A  roar  of  laughter  rewarded  this  pleasantry,  and  hearing 
the  gay  sound,  the  incarcerated  soldier  struck  up  with 
rather  a  dreary  quaver,  u  1 1  '11  ride  a  cock  horse  to  Banbury 
Cross ! '  " 

"  You  will  ride  a  wooden  horse  as  soon  as  you  are  sober 
enough  to  mount  one  !  "  called  out  the  corporal. 

A  great  whining  and  wheezing  and  affectations  of  lamen 
tation  ensued  on  the  other  side  of  the  door,  at  which  all 
the  guard  laughed  uproariously. 

One  of  the  English  contingent,  a  short,  stocky  fellow, 
who  had  been  carefully  greasing  a  pair  of  feet  always  kept 
in  the  prime  order  for  marching  essential  to  the  regular 
infantry-man,  now  presented  those  members  glistening  and 


328  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

perfect  on  the  edge  of  the  hearth,  that  the  unguents  might 
take  full  effect  by  aid  of  the  heat  of  the  fire.  He  had  just 
been  admonished  by  the  corporal  of  that  regulation  which 
forbids  the  guard  to  lay  aside  any  of  their  clothing  or  ac 
coutrements.  He  first  argued  that  stockings  were  neither 
arms  nor  garments,  then  pleaded  with  the  corporal  for  a  mo 
mentary  respite  that  the  grease  might  soak  into  the  flesh 
instead  of  the  fabric  of  his  hose.  To  take  full  advantage  of 
the  official  clemency  he  sought  to  create  a  diversion  by  re 
suming  with  animation  the  previous  subject.  . 

"  I  wonder,"  he  said,  "  if  that  furriner  up  there  in  the 
Cherokee  country  is  French  or  a  Spaniard.  When  I  was 
stationed  at  Gibraltar  I  learned  a  deal  o'  the  lingo  of  that 
country." 

A  long  silence  ensued.  No  surprise  was  intimated  at 
the  extent  of  the  soldier's  service,  for  so  often  had  he  re 
counted  the  details  of  his  experiences  at  Gibraltar  and  the 
observations  he  had  collated  from  Spain  that  they  had  grown 
a  burden  and  had  earned  for  him  the  sobriquet  of  "the 
Senor," — appropriately,  perhaps,  mispronounced  "  the  Sin 
ner." 

The  recent  hostilities  between  England  and  Spain  gave 
additional  and  phenomenal  interest  to  his  prelections  now. 

"  The  Spaniards  are  a  great  people  for  all  that  's  come  an' 
gone,"  he  resumed  presently.  "  'T  was  them  strengthened 
the  fortifications  at  Gibraltar  so  they  are  now  what  they 
be,"  he  added  significantly. 

"  They  did  so  !  An'  they  done  it  well,  begorra  !  "  re 
torted  a  big  Irishman.  "  An',"  with  a  rollicking  laugh  from 
his  full  red  lips,  "  bedad,  by  the  same  token  we  tuk  it  away 
from  'um." 

"  The  Sinner  "  took  no  notice  of  this  pertinent  corollary 
of  his  proposition.  He  was  looking  reflectively  at  his  feet, 
stretched  out  straight  before  him  as  he  sat  flat  on  the  hearth. 
His  hair  stood  up  straight  from  his  brow  and  was  tied  in  a 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  329 

thin  queue  behind.  He  had  small  bright  eyes,  heavy- 
lidded  and  downcast  now.  His  face  was  clear  and  youthful, 
with  a  large  jowl,  that  narrowed  toward  the  mouth,  and  a 
short  blunt  nose.  He  was  a  good  soldier  by  line  and  rule, 
and  of  a  particularly  clean  aspect.  In  fact  he  had  so  fresh, 
scraped,  washed  an  appearance  that  with  his  porcine  resem 
blance  he  suggested,  as  he  sat  with  his  plump  pink  and  white 
feet  and  shins  bare  of  hose  to  the  knee,  some  punctual  pig 
that  had  accommodatingly  cleaned  and  scalded  himself  —  if 
such  a  process  were  ever  possible  in  the  lifetime  of  swine. 

The  flames  flared  furiously  up  the  chimney.  Outside  the 
roar  of  water  that  intimated  the  swift  flow  of  the  Keowee 
E-iver  could  be  differentiated  from  the  sound  of  the  rain 
in  a  fusillade  on  the  roof  and  its  splashing  sweep  from  the 
eaves.  A  roll  of  thunder  far  away  shook  the  earth,  un 
seasonable,  seemingly  irrelevant  to  the  occasion,  hardly 
appurtenant  to  this  steady  torrent  of  wintry  rain. 

"  If  that  f urriner  is  one  of  them  Dons,"  said  "  the  Sin 
ner,"  resuming  his  speculations,  his  eyes  critically  on  the 
contour  of  his  great  toe,  "  he  knows  what 's  what.  He  ain't 
there  among  them  Injuns  for  nothin'.  They  are  the  strate 
gists  —  them  Spaniards." 

"  Arrah,"  exclaimed  the  Irishman,  blowing  out  his  con 
tempt  with  a  cloud  of  strong  tobacco  as  he  smoked  his  little 
cutty  pipe,  "it  is  just  as  well,  thin,  that  they  have  got 
nothin'  I  want.  Cubia  will  contint  me  —  that  is,  for  the 
presint,"  he  added,  with  a  bland  air  of  moderation. 

For  this  was  before  the  treaty  restoring  "the  Havan- 
nah"  to  Spain. 

"I'm  talkin'  about  the  hold  they  are  takin'  on  this 
country,"  argued  "the  Sinner."  "They  are  surrounding 
us  "  —  an  apprehension  at  that  time  entertained  by  wiser 
men  than  he  —  "  amongst  all  these  wildernesses  an'  with 
no  defenses  but  two  or  three  flimsy  mud  forts.  They  will 
retaliate  for  the  Havannah  an'  Manilla  on  the  frontier  of 


330  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

the  British  colonies  in  Ameriky.  Diablo  !  I  tell  you  now, 
if  that  man  in  the  Cherokee  country  is  one  o'  them  caba- 
lleros,  what  between  the  Spaniard  an'  the  French  an'  the 
Injuns  the  southern  colonies  is  crushed." 

He  brought  his  two  shining  feet  together  with  a  clap,  the 
smart  impact  denoting  the  small  chance  that  aught  inter 
vening  would  have  of  escape. 

The  other  men  looked  reflectively  at  the  fire.  They  were 
as  brave  as  soldiers  need  to  be,  but  the  conditions  of  the 
frontier  were  of  various  adverse  interpretations.  While  they 
could  march  against  an  open  enemy  readily  enough,  the 
chances  of  traps  and  massacres,  of  torture  and  slavery  in 
captivity,  supplemented  by  the  wiles  of  a  civilized  power 
coalescing  with  the  savages,  and  the  ever  recurrent  doubt  of 
the  ability  of  distant  superior  officers  to  cope  with  these  un 
toward  circumstances  so  far  removed  from  their  observa 
tion,  all  combined  to  give  the  soldiery  many  a  more  serious 
thought  than  appertained  to  their  humble  functions  as  the 
hands  that  execute  rather  than  the  brain  that  devises. 

The  corporal  eyed  "  the  Sinner  "  rancorously. 

"  Ye  must  be  gittin'  them  feet  ready  to  gallopade  up  an' 
down  on  extra  drill,"  he  said.  "  I  '11  report  you  for 
spreading  discontent  among  the  troops  with  your  tomfool 
talk  about  them  Dons." 

"  Why,"  said  "  the  Sinner,"  with  a  look  of  innocent  sur 
prise,  "  I  was  just  thinkin'  about  all  this  talk  o'  silk  wums 
in  Carolina  an'  Georgia  —  when  in  Spain  —  why  you  ought 
jus'  to  see  the  wum  farms  amongst  the  mulberries  on  the  "  — 

"  No  —  no  — ye  were  talkin'  about  that  fellow  up  in  the 
Cherokee  country !  "  persisted  the  corporal. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  admitted  the  wily  "  Sinner,"  perceiving  the 
evasion  was  useless.  "I  was  wonderin'  if  the  lad  was  a 
Spaniard  to  be  stirrin'  up  such  a  commotion.  There  's  a 
deal  too  many  o'  them  on  the  continent  now  to  make  it 
surprisin'  if  he  is  one  too !  " 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  331 

"  I  '11  tell  ye,  thin,  me  bye  !  't  is  Oirish  he  is,"  declared 
the  Hibernian  genially.  "  One  o'  me  own  pattern.  When 
ever  ye  meet  a  distinguished  compatriot  an'  don't  know 
wher  he  comes  from,  set  him  down  for  an'  Oirishman,  bein' 
a  man  o'  ganius  !  " 

"  He  is  a  Scotchman  I  '11  wager,"  said  a  native  South 
Carolinian,  for  already  the  leaven  of  disaffection  against  that 
nationality  that  had  helped  to  make  the  province  strong  and 
thrifty  was  beginning  to  work.  "A  Scotchman,  and  not 
just  one  too  many,  either.  A  Scotch  trader,  I  '11  be  bound, 
turned  Cherokee.  Some  o'  the  French  get  regularly  adopted 
into  the  tribes.  I  know  some  Scotch  fellows  among  the 
Chickasaws  that  are  trying  it,  to  trade  the  more  handily, 
and  I  dare  be  sworn  that  this  makebate  among  the  Chero- 
kees  is  another  Injun  Sawney  !  " 

This  stirred  Callum's  patriotism,  the  master  key  of  a 
Scotchman's  heart. 

"  The  man  's  a  Frenchman,"  he  said  curtly. 

"  Did  he  sneeze  in  French  ?  "  demanded  the  jocose  cor 
poral. 

Callum  did  not  laugh.  His  eyes  were  fixed  on  the 
masses  of  red  coals  beneath  the  flames  of  the  fire  that  cast 
their  continual  flicker  over  his  dreamy  retrospective  face. 

"  I  wad  hae  thought  mysel'  he  had  been  an  Englishman, 
that  is,  a  Firginian,"  he  said  reflectively,  as  if  speaking  to 
himself.  "  But  no,  the  man  is  French  !  " 

The  corporal  scarce  drew  a  breath.  "  Hey,  Callum  lad," 
he  contrived  to  say  with  a  casual  intonation,  "  had  ye  ever 
seen  him  afore  that  day  ?  " 

"  Ou,  ay,  many  a  time,"  replied  Callum,  intent  on  his 
memories. 

"  Where,  lad  ?  where  ?  " 

Callum  roused  himself  in  returning  consciousness. 

"  In  the  Cherokee  country,  man  !  At  loco  Town,  at  Jock 
Lesly's  trading-house.  We  a'  took  him  for  a  Firginian." 


332  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

"  And  why  do  you  think  now  he  is  French  ?  Lieuten 
ant  Everard  gave  that  p'int  up,  they  tell  me." 

Callum  hesitated.  "  I  hae  my  ain  reasons/'  he  said,  but 
with  such  finality  of  tone  that  the  corporal  pressed  the  mat 
ter  no  further. 

When  the  guard  was  relieved  the  next  morning,  the  officer 
of  the  day  found  a  point  of  importance  noted  in  the  written 
report  of  the  officer  of  the  guard,  and  as  a  consequence 
Callum  was  surprised  by  a  summons  to  the  presence  of  the 
commandant  of  the  fort,  to  reply  to  a  very  queer  and  childish 
question,  as  it  seemed  to  him. 

"How  do  you  know  that  that  man  in  the  Cherokee 
country  whom  Lieutenant  Everard  was  —  about  to  arrest " 
—  Captain  Howard  put  it  as  euphemistically  as  possible,  out 
of  respect  to  a  brother  officer  —  "  how  do  you  know  that  he 
is  French  ?  " 

"  I  heard  him  speak  French,  sir,  to  himself  —  when  he 
thought  he  was  alane." 

"  But  you  know  that  an  Englishman,  any  one  who  can 
learn  the  language,  can  speak  French." 

"  Not  like  a  Frenchman,  sir,"  persisted  Callum. 

Captain  Howard  hesitated.  Of  all  things  he  would  like 
to  secure  this  makebate,  this  formidable  influence  among 
the  Cherokees,  nay  among  all  the  tribes,  that  had  rendered 
the  costly  peace  which  had  been  so  difficult  to  secure,  so 
long  sought,  but  a  hollow  semblance,  a  menacing  sham. 
Moreover,  he  would  be  very  glad  to  succeed  where  Everard 
had  failed.  A  very  close  clutch  on  distinction  had  the  dapper 
young  lieutenant  let  slip.  And  here  was  the  man  who  in 
the  first  instance  had  afforded  information. 

"  Have  you  no  other  reason  for  your  belief  ?  "  Captain 
Howard  asked  anxiously. 

"  Aye,  sir,  I  ken  he  is  French  frae  himseP,"  Callum  re 
plied  calmly.  "  He  tauld  a  woman,  sir,  an'  she  tauld  me  ; 
but  you  will  no  ask  me  to  mention  her  name." 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  333 

"  Certainly  not,"  said  the  officer,  thinking  that  he  wished 
to  avoid  implicating  others  in  responsibility ;  "a  noncom- 
batant  in  any  event.  But/'  eagerly,  "  would  you  know  the 
fellow  if  you  should  see  him  again  ?  " 

"  I  wad,  sir." 

"  In  any  disguise  ?  "  the  officer  persisted. 

"  I  wad  indeed,  sir,  fu'  weel." 

"  That  is  all  for  the  present,"  said  Captain  Howard.  Cal- 
lum  gave  him  an  amazed  stare,  then  saluted  and  withdrew, 
wondering  at  this  puerile  futility.  Would  he  know  the 
man  indeed ! 


XVII 

WITH  all  its  advantages  civilization  bears  also  its  dis 
advantages  to  the  postulant  of  culture.  Perhaps  no  one  has 
adequately  appreciated  the  stress  of  that  period  to  the  men 
tal  and  moral  nature  of  the  Indian  when,  detached  from  his 
ancien  regime,  its  methods  and  manners,  growing  scornful 
of  its  sanctities  and  questioning  its  values,  he  was  yet  unac 
customed  to  the  new  order  of  things,  unversed  in  its  utili 
ties,  incompetent  of  its  comprehension  —  alienated  from  the 
one  and  not  acclimated  to  the  other. 

Many  an  Indian  roamed  about  the  little  mart,  beginning 
to  gather  under  the  guns  of  Fort  Prince  George,  alike  surly 
with  contempt  for  the  old  and  aversion  for  the  new,  unset 
tled,  dissatisfied,  dull,  and  dangerous.  Now  and  again,  with 
a  dark,  restless  eye,  one  would  pause  and  look  out  unal- 
lured  to  the  forest  and  river  —  not  the  same,  never  again 
to  be  the  same !  Then  he  would  turn  his  gaze,  with  loath 
ing  disgust,  to  the  busy  mercantile  Europeans,  with  their 
quick  trading  talk,  their  bearded  faces,  their  knee  breeches, 
and  the  long  woolen  stockings  on  their  stout,  thick  calves. 
A  queer  and  odious  presentment  of  humanity  they  seemed. 
Even  the  military  did  not  impress  the  Indians  as  the  soldiers 
whirled  and  ranged  about  to  the  sound  of  fife  and  drum  in 
that  close  order  so  favorable  to  being  mowed  down  by  the 
very  musket  and  ball  with  which  they  themselves  were 
armed.  A  strange  mental  atmosphere  it  was  —  charged 
with  the  fumes  from  the  embers  of  the  burned-out  past 
and  the  miasma  exhaled  from  the  poisonous  present.  No 
wonder  their  outlook  was  beclouded  and  drear. 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  335 

All  the  conditions  of  life  hitherto  were  reversed  for 
many  of  them.  Never  had  they  met  the  representatives  of 
certain  tribes,  immemorial  enemies,  save  with  weapons  in 
their  hands.  Now,  because  of  the  intrusion  of  the  white 
man  and  the  diversion  of  interest  that  he  had  effected,  a 
hollow  peace  or  a  simulated  indifference  had  been  patched 
up.  Between  many  the  semblance  was  fast  growing  into 
reality  under  the  influence  of  that  secret  hope,  nay,  that 
earnest,  triumphant,  almost  holy  expectation  of  national 
independence  that  had  been  held  in  abeyance  of  late  and 
which  the  colonists  perceived  without  interpreting.  It  made 
for  a  universal  friendship  among  them,  and  the  traders 
chafed  at  its  result,  for  intertribal  war  sold  gunpowder, 
utilized  the  venomous  activities  of  the  savages  against  each 
other,  and  thus  gave  immunity  to  the  white  settlers.  This 
almost  visible  bond  in  the  unity  of  friendship  of  these 
hereditary  enemies  was  a  menace  to  all  the  English  colo 
nies  from  the  mountains  to  the  Atlantic,  outnumbered  by 
their  negro  slaves,  and  with  the  threatening  Spaniard  on  the 
south  and  the  inimical  French  on  the  west.  The  frontier 
traders  scanned  the  horizon  that  showed  so  strange  a  portent, 
and  muttered  much  together  and  shook  their  heads. 

To  Mingo  Push-koosh  this  prospect  of  universal  brother 
hood  among  the  tribes  promised  little.  He  wandered  drear 
ily  about  the  world,  a  vagrant  indeed,  almost  an  outcast. 
There  had  been  much  ill  blood  between  the  Cherokees  and 
Choctaws  on  his  account,  although  no  definite  national  war 
was  inaugurated,  since  the  French  influence  had  been  ex 
erted  to  maintain  intertribal  peace  and  secure  satisfaction. 
However,  sundry  individual  reprisals  for  the  iniquities  that 
celebrated  the  conge  of  Mingo  Push-koosh  at  Great  Tellico 
had  resulted  in  counter-reprisals  till,  when  two  braves  of  the 
respective  factions  chanced  to  meet  in  the  settlement  about 
Fort  Prince  George,  nervous  people  instinctively  dodged  in 
expectation  of  the  smartly  sped  arrow  or  the  impulsively 


336  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

hurled  tomahawk,  and  prudent  people  sought  the  nearest 
shelter.  Indeed  Mingo  Push-koosh  would  not  have  ven 
tured  here  within  the  "borders  of  the  Cherokee  country  hut 
for  the  protection  of  the  guns  of  the  British  fort.  He  was 
not  safe  inside  the  French  boundaries,  his  wonted  sphere, 
for  he  had  been  bereft  of  all  the  honors  and  privileges  he 
had  once  enjoyed.  In  fact  he  had  been  sought  with  a  view 
to  condign  punishment,  a  price  being  placed  on  his  head 
when  the  authorities  at  New  Orleans  had  learned  of  his  be 
trayal  of  trust  and  desertion  of  Laroche,  leaving  him  after 
the  massacre  in  the  hands  of  the  Cherokees,  which  must 
have  proved  fatal  to  him  and  the  interests  he  represented 
but  for  his  own  perseverance  and  address. 

An  exile  thus,  Mingo  Push-koosh  affected  the  English 
settlements,  an  avowed  deserter  to  the  British  interest,  pro 
testing  that  his  eyes  were  opened  to  the  French  wiles  and 
that  the  French  spoke  with  the  tongue  of  a  snake  seente 
soolish,  the  mere  sound  of  which  made  his  heart  weigh 
very  heavy  within  him.  These  statements  were  received 
with  a  certain  indifference,  for  by  reason  of  his  exile  he 
could  not  bring  any  great  personal  following  to  the  English 
flag ;  in  fact,  but  for  the  hope  that  his  presence  might  de 
coy  others  of  his  tribe  to  imitate  his  example,  Mingo  Push- 
koosh  n  would  scarcely  have  been  regarded  at  all.  Proud 
and  ambitious,  he  realized  the  necessity  of  pressing  more  effi 
caciously  his  own  cause,  and  would  have  embraced  the  oppor 
tunity  of  any  military  service  —  but  how  ?  and  whither  ? 

Poor  Push-koosh !  Disregarded  by  the  English,  and  in 
actual  danger  from  the  French,  the  pompous  Prince  Baby 
had  now  naught  in  hand  of  more  import  than  the  mercan 
tile  venture  of  selling  a  dozen  or  so  fine  horses,  which  he 
had  caused  to  be  driven  from  his  old  home  at  Yowanne, 
through  the  southern  country,  to  Jock  Lesly,  who  desired 
them  for  use  in  his  pack-trains  to  Charlestown  in  the  spring, 
laden  with  the  skins  from  this  winter's  hunt.  The  sale 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  337 

accomplished  to-day,  Mingo  Push-koosh  strolled  about,  for 
lorn,  friendless,  among  the  boxes  and  bales  on  the  platform 
of  Jock  Lesly's  trading-house  at  Keowee  Town.  His  thick 
long  hair  floated  in  the  breeze ;  his  silver  arm-plates  and 
headband  were  as  bright  as  of  yore,  but  a  deep  dejection 
showed  in  his  large  surly  eyes,  and  he  had  the  effect  of 
a  drooping  crest,  albeit  the  flamingo  feathers  still  flaunted 
high. 

" Ish  la  chu,  angona  ?  "  (Are  you  come,  friend  ?)  A 
Chickasaw  who  passed  offered  the  conventional  salutation, 
knowing  of  the  Choctaw's  defection  from  the  French  interest, 
for  the  subtribes  (including  the  Choccomaw)  of  the  ancient 
Chicimecas  have  almost  a  common  language. 

"  Arahre-0  angona  f"  (I  am  come  indeed,  friend!) 
Push-koosh  replied,  although  he  could  hardly  refrain  from 
springing  upon  the  Chickasaw  as  he  passed  and  tearing  the 
scalp  from  his  head  with  his  teeth,  if  need  were. 

The  incident  concluded,  he  continued  to  idle  about  the 
trading-house,  standing  on  the  platform  and  gazing  at  the 
gray  river  under  a  gray  sky.  The  water  was  dark  —  all 
the  light  in  the  landscape  seemed  concentrated  in  the  icy 
flicker  in  the  leafless  forests  near  the  Indian  town  of  Keowee 
which  lay  on  both  banks.  Then  he  shifted  his  position  and 
stood  on  the  other  end  of  the  platform  and  gazed  silently 
at  the  bastions  of  the  fort.  Whenever  he  saw  the  British 
flag  he  could  not  refrain  from  spitting  his  disdain  openly, 
obviously,  on  the  ground.  Fearing  lest  this  demonstration 
be  observed,  as  the  flag  flaunted  from  the  fort,  he  once  more 
turned  impatiently  and  changed  his  position  to  the  other 
end  of  the  platform,  as  before.  He  was  absorbed  in  the 
reflection  that  the  great  coalition  of  Indian  tribes  would  at 
last  become  a  triumphant  fact  and  that  he  would  have  no 
share  in  it.  This  fair  prospect  he  had  forfeited,  with  the 
favor  of  the  French ;  as  for  the  English,  they  would  have 
none  of  him,  would  trust  him  with  no  opportunity  of  value. 


338  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

So  long  he  stood  there  that  the  under-trader  grew  a  trifle 
solicitous  as  to  his  designs.  The  degenerate  among  the  In 
dians  had  become  most  expert  thieves,  and  it  is  recorded 
that  while  engaged  in  conversation  with  the  merchant  they 
could  abstract  what  articles  they  would  from  under  his  eyes. 
Alas,  poor  Push-koosh  —  whose  thoughts  were  of  empire  ! 

Dougal  Micklin,  the  under-trader,  a  pursy,  unimagina 
tive  man,  all  of  whose  mental  processes  could  be  discerned 
in  his  round  face  and  his  merry  dark  eyes,  with  his  round, 
burly  body  encased  in  buckskins  and  wearing  a  coonskin  cap 
set  rather  far  back  from  his  placid  brow,  was  loath  to  take  his 
eyes  from  the  Choctaw,  visible  through  the  wide  barnlike 
door,  and  therefore  mentioned  his  identity  to  Captain  How 
ard,  the  commandant  of  the  fort,  who  chanced  to  be  in  the 
house  purchasing  some  buttons  for  his  own  personal  use. 

"  Aye,  sir,  three  and  sax  the  dozen,  sir/'  Dougal  Micklin 
said,  as  he  glanced  again  out  of  the  door ;  then,  as  if  to 
excuse  his  evidently  wandering  attention,  he  continued, 
"  That  Choctaw  buck  is  an  unco  gret  prince,  Captain,"  his 
red  lips  curling  with  good-natured  sarcasm  at  the  idea.  "  He 
used  to  be  in  high  favor  wi'  the  French,  but  he  fell  out  wi' 
the  mounseers  at  Tellico  Gret,  and  now  seems  to  have  his 
finger  in  his  mouth." 

Captain  Howard  turned  suddenly  and  surveyed  the  figure 
of  the  Indian,  as  Push-koosh,  unconscious  of  this  keen  scru 
tiny,  stood  sullen  and  dreary  on  the  platform.  The  fringes 
of  his  saffron-hued  buckskin  shirt  and  leggings  were  all  borne 
backward  in  the  breeze,  his  stiff  scarlet  flamingo  feathers 
and  his  long  black  hair  were  aslant  also  without  other  stir, 
as  if  he  might  have  been  pictured  thus  on  a  canvas.  His 
heavily  embroidered  belt,  shot  pouch,  and  tobacco  bag,  his 
silver  headband  and  bracelets,  his  necklace  of  pearls  and 
many  strings  of  "roanoke,"  the  fine  silver-mounted  pistols 
at  his  side,  all  seemed  to  confirm  the  truth  of  the  trader's 
representations  as  to  his  high  rank. 


A  SPECTEE  OF  POWER  339 

"  'T  is  Mingo  Push-koosh  !  "  the  trader  added. 

"  Call  him  in,"  said  Captain  Howard.  Then  with  an 
afterthought,  "  No,  I  ?11  speak  to  him  myself  !  " 

The  officer  striding  out  confronted  the  Choctaw  just  as 
again,  catching  a  glimpse  of  the  British  flag,  Mingo  Push- 
koosh  was  ahout  to  spit  his  disaffection  upon  the  ground. 

"  How  ?  "  said  Captain  Howard,  smiling  agreeably. 

Push-koosh  was  visibly  surprised,  but  looked  inconceiv 
ably  haughty. 

"  How  ?  "  he  returned  with  half  covert,  scornful  disap 
probation,  and  waited  in  doubt. 

Now  Captain  Howard's  education  was  lamentably  defec 
tive  as  far  as  the  Choctaw,  practically  the  Chickasaw  lan 
guage  was  concerned,  although  the  latter  Indians  were  those 
with  whom  he  had  had  most  dealings,  as  they  had  repeatedly 
served  in  the  campaigns  in  this  region  with  the  British  troops. 
Nevertheless,  in  the  delicate  and  tentative  bit  of  business 
which  he  had  in  contemplation,  he  did  not  desire  the  offices 
of  an  interpreter  lest  a  bird  of  the  air  carry  the  matter. 

Lending  himself  to  the  effort  to  compass  speech  as  it  were 
without  words,  he  smiled  again  blandly  with  a  distinctly  mol 
lifying  effect. 

"  Big  Mingo ! "  he  said,  waving  his  hand  with  a  free  ges 
ture  to  impart  added  grace  to  his  compliment. 

He  was  a  tall,  bony,  angular  man  of  forty-five,  and  the 
demonstration  ill  suited  the  stiff  military  dignity  of  his 
habitual  carriage  and  the  impressive  effect  of  his  scarlet 
uniform. 

"  Capteny  Humma  Echeto  !  "  (Great  red  captain  !)  re 
sponded  the  Mingo,  complimentary  in  turn. 

Then  they  both  paused  and  stared  hard  at  each  other. 

"  Mingo  love  British  ?  "  demanded  the  captain  at  length. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  sardonic  than  the  lan 
guishing  smile  with  which  Push-koosh  laid  his  hand  upon 
his  true  heart. 


340  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

"  Mingo  hate  French  ? "  the  political  catechism  pro 
ceeded. 

The  face  of  Push-koosh  suddenly  darkened.  He  spat 
his  contempt  on  the  ground. 

"  Hottuk  ookproose  !  "   (The  accursed  people  !) 

"  Why  hate  French  ?  "  the  inquisitor  proceeded. 

The  heart  of  Push-koosh  swelled.  His  eyes  "burned  hot 
in  their  sockets.  The  veins  of  his  throat  were  distended 
and  tense  as  cords.  He  could  hardly  speak  even  fragmen- 
tarily,  and  but  for  the  straining  of  every  sense  to  hear,  to 
distinguish,  to  interpret,  Captain  Howard  might  have  made 
but  little  of  the  jargon  of  broken  English  that  the  Choctaw 
hissed  out  in  the  intervals  between  his  gasps  of  rage. 

The  ugly  French  "  beloved  man  "  had  betrayed  him,  had 
ruined  his  prospects  !  He  had  slandered  him  to  the  head 
men  of  Great  Tellico  !  And  because  he  had  quitted  the 
Cherokee  country  on  account  of  their  ill  usage,  and  left  the 
French  ugly  "beloved  man  "  there,  —  who  had  sustained  no 
harm  whatever !  —  the  indescribably  ugly  French  governor 
in  New  Orleans  was  angry. 

Captain  Howard  had  caught  so  eagerly  at  the  words 
"  Great  Tellico  "  that  although  his  ears  were  not  of  such  a 
conformation  and  flexibility  that  they  could  be  described  as 
"  pricked  up,"  his  countenance  had  that  vivid  accession  of 
intelligence  that  seems  concomitant. 

"  Mingo  go  Tellico  ?  " 

Push-koosh's  face,  gradually  brightening  in  the  expec 
tation  of  a  commission  of  some  important  sort,  fell  sud 
denly.  He  remembered  that  fierce  onset  upon  the  unof 
fending  Cherokee  tribesmen,  that  bloody  massacre  !  No,  not 
to  Tellico,  as  he  valued  his  life !  Never  again  to  Tellico, 
never  again ! 

"  Capteny  much  wants  Mingo  go  Tellico  ! "  urged  Cap 
tain  Howard  persuasively. 

The  passionate  mobile  countenance  of  Push-koosh,  with 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  341 

naught  firm  in  its  lines  save  the  determination  to  go  no 
more  to  Tellico,  was  turned  toward  the  river,  the  wind  blow 
ing  backward  his  long  loose  hair,  so  odd  of  effect  here  among 
the  Cherokees,  whose  heads  were  all  polled,  his  great  eyes 
absent  and  anxious,  his  earnest  hope  of  employment  in  the 
British  interest  slipping  beyond  his  reach.  But  not  to 
Tellico  —  never  again  ! 

"  Capteny  much  wants  French  '  beloved  man ' ! "  Captain 
Howard  murmured  plaintively. 

Push-koosh  brought  his  small  even  teeth  together  with  so 
sudden  a  snap  and  gasp  that  the  officer  instinctively  drew 
back  a  step. 

"  Does  the  beast  bite  ?  "  he  said  to  himself. 

"  Fort  Prince  George  ?  Bring  '  beloved  man '  ?  Capteny 
wants?"  Push-koosh  asked,  the  words  coming  one  after  an 
other,  one  upon  another,  in  the  joyous  turbulence  of  sudden 
comprehension. 

Push-koosh  could  do  this  for  the  Capteny  Humma, 
Echeto  without  the  necessity  to  repair  to  Great  Tellico. 
In  that  secret  knowledge  of  the  scheme  of  the  now  almost 
united  tribes,  many  details,  seeming  of  but  scant  signifi 
cance,  were  obvious  to  those  who  had  with  them  but  little 
concern.  For  instance,  the  gossip  brought  by  the  tribesmen 
who  had  driven  hither  his  horses  had  not  till  now  seemed 
of  moment  to  Push-koosh.  A  conference  was  in  contem 
plation,  to  be  held  at  0-tel-who-yau-nau  (Hurricane  Town), 
in  the  country  of  the  Lower  Muscogees,  and  several  noted 
chiefs  were  to  be  present,  especially  certain  disaffected  spirits 
who  desired  to  lay  their  views  before  the  French  governor 
through  the  medium  of  his  "beloved  man,"  Lieutenant 
de  Laroche,  who  with  an  escort  of  Cherokees  was  to  come 
down  expressly  from  Great  Tellico.  The  choice  of  Hurri 
cane  Town  had  been  in  honor  and  placation  of  Padgee  (the 
Pigeon),  its  mico,  for  he  was  well  known  to  have  hesitated 
and  to  be  grievously  ill  at  ease  at  the  renunciation  of  Brit- 


342  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWEK 

ish  favor  and  British  trade.  The  journey  of  the  "  beloved 
man  "  Laroche  would  lie,  it  is  true,  through  a  country  espe 
cially  friendly  to  him  and  his  plans,  but  Push-koosh  knew 
when  the  fleet  of  canoes  and  pettiaugres  would  be  expected 
on  Flint  Biver,  and  it  might  be  —  lurking  near  —  some 
opportunity  — 

His  deft  fingers  trembled  upon  the  trigger  of  his  fine 
pistol. 

Captain  Howard  touched  his  arm. 

"  No ! "  the  officer  said  with  the  ringing  tones  of  author 
ity.  "Alive!" 

"  Alive  ?  —  the  French  <  beloved  man '  ?  "  Push-koosh  fal 
tered. 

Captain  Howard  was  thinking  very  fast.  In  those  days 
when  rewards  were  offered  for  the  scalps  of  various  nation 
alities  of  Indians  and  white  men  one  could  hardly  be  more 
certain  of  the  genuineness  of  a  head  of  hair  than  if  it  were 
a  wig.  Captain  Howard  had  some  knowledge  of  a  flaxen 
scalp  riven  from  the  head  of  an  unoffending  German  colonist 
and  of  the  effort  to  make  it  pass  current  for  a  Spaniard's  jetty 
hair  by  an  Indian  more  disingenuous  than  discerning.  The 
astute  Push-koosh  would  never  so  far  disregard  the  proba 
bilities,  but  Captain  Howard  wanted  no  cheap  English 
auburn  locks  from  the  nearest  convenient  British  station. 
He  must  needs  be  sure  of  that  subtle  brain  beneath  the 
thatch.  The  man  in  person  —  naught  else  would  satisfy 
him.  "  Alive  —  well  —  the  ' beloved  man '  all  in  one  piece  !  " 
he  declared  slowly,  definitely. 

He  took  his  netted  silk  purse  from  his  pocket  and  began 
to  significantly  count  the  golden  guineas  from  one  hand  to 
the  other.  Push-koosh  seemed  scarcely  to  notice.  For  a  mo 
ment  he  was  as  if  in  a  daze.  The  breath  came  quick  from 
between  his  parted  lips ;  his  teeth  showed  slightly,  giving 
him  a  strange  savagery  of  aspect ;  his  eyes  glanced  hither, 
thither  restlessly,  as  if  he  were  seeking  to  gauge  the  various 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  343 

points  of  difficulty  in  the  undertaking.  He  had  not  moved, 
but  the  wind  still  fluttered  in  the  fringes  of  his  saffron  buck 
skin  suit  and  in  the  crest  of  scarlet  flamingo  feathers,  and  the 
light  of  the  dull  day  gleamed  with  a  white  metallic  glister 
upon  the  silver  headband  above  his  dark  flat  forehead. 

His  eyes  seemed  suddenly  afire  when  Captain  Howard, 
eager  that  there  should  be  no  mistake  in  identity,  asked 
abruptly,  "  Are  you  sure  that  you  would  know  this  French 
1  beloved  man '  of  Tellico  if  you  should  see  him  again  ?  " 

Push-koosh  stared  for  a  moment  motionless.  Then  he 
bent  himself  suddenly  backward  as  if  struck  by  a  flaw  of 
wind.  He  caught  both  hands  to  his  lips  as  if  to  intercept 
the  cry  that  escaped,  —  a  fierce,  shrill,  tremendous  note  ex 
panding  through  all  the  heavy  silence  of  the  gray  day,  and 
seeming  to  strike  with  the  clamors  of  its  savage  joy  against 
the  gates  of  heaven. 


XVIII 

WHEN  very  quietly  in  the  sombre  depths  of  the  midnight 
Callum  Macllvesty,  according  to  orders  communicated  ab 
ruptly  to  him  by  the  commandant,  groped  down  to  the  river 
bank,  the  vague  current  barely  glimpsed  by  the  scintillation 
of  some  star  in  the  ripples  soon  obscured  by  the  scudding 
clouds,  he  took  his  seat  in  a  boat  with  only  two  dark  fig 
ures,  motionless,,  unknown,  invisible,  for  traveling  com 
panions.  The  river  under  the  shadow  of  the  banks  was 
as  black  as  Styx,  and  as  silent  as  Charon  was  the  boat's 
crew.  On  the  opposite  side,  the  Indian  town  of  Keowee 
lay  hushed  and  absolutely  still.  Once  a  dog  barked,  ap 
prised  in  some  subtle  manner  of  the  enterprise  going  for 
ward,  for  there  was  no  noise  of  movement,  no  word  spoken. 
At  the  fort  only  the  window  of  the  guard-room  was  alight, 
and  one  listening  might  hear  or  fancy  the  vague  footfall 
of  the  sentry  walking  his  limited  beat.  The  gleam  from  the 
window  was  but  a  twinkle  in  the  gloom,  and  only  now  and 
again  a  star  shone  out  responsive  from  the  clouds.  The 
muffled  oars  did  not  rattle  in  the  locks  ;  there  was  hardly 
a  perceptible  impact  as  the  blades  were  immersed  in  the 
water.  The  vague  sense  of  gliding  in  the  darkness  away, 
swiftly  away,  from  all  the  familiar  world,  from  all  that  re 
presented  his  experience  hitherto  and  civilized  life,  whither 
he  hardly  knew,  with  whom  he  could  not  imagine,  impressed 
Callum  Macllvesty's  mind  with  a  very  definite  repugnance 
for  his  errand,  and  for  all  the  secrecy  and  mystery  with 
•which  it  had  been  invested.  He  wondered,  as  the  sense  of 
distance  increased,  as  the  shadow  that  marked  the  site  of 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  345 

the  town  merged  indistinguishably  into  the  darkness,  as  the 
twinkle  that  indicated  the  fort  glimmered  afar  off,  then  was 
extinguished  utterly,  whether  his  invisible  and  silent  com 
panions  knew  more  of  him  than  he  of  their  identity. 

"  Captain  Howard  needna  hae  feared  I  'd  set  myseP 
a-talkin',"  he  said  to  himself,  realizing  that  the  party  had 
been  thus  unexpectedly  and  silently  hustled  off  in  order  that 
naught  might  transpire  of  their  mission,  nay,  that  their  ab 
sence  might  not  even  be  noticed  at  the  fort,  till  the  scheme 
was  well  on  its  way  to  execution.  "  I  'm  nane  o'  the  sort 
to  be  given  to  idle  clavers." 

His  companions  might  have  this  failing,  however,  he 
reflected,  and  thus  he  drew  his  plaid  about  him  and  wrapped 
himself  in  silent  cogitation  as  in  the  garment. 

Each  of  the  party  was  himself  too  surly,  or  perhaps  too 
proud,  or  it  may  be  too  doubtful  of  the  others  to  express 
curiosity.  Without  a  whisper,  hearing  each  other  breathe, 
now  and  again  touching  one  another,  a  knee,  an  elbow,  in 
moving  in  the  strait  quarters,  they  slipped  like  a  phantom 
craft,  a  crew  of  shadows,  past  the  wharf  and  the  trading- 
house,  past  the  group  of  canoes  and  pettiaugres  anchored  or 
beached  there,  past  a  great  Indian  camp  of  the  peltry  hunt 
ers,  down  and  down  the  river,  the  current  aiding  the  regular 
strokes  of  the  oars  and  bearing  them  swiftly  on. 

Naught  was  roused  along  the  banks  except  an  owl,  that 
hooting  after  them  sent  a  gibing  echo  full  of  quaint  voca 
bles  far  along  the  reaches  of  the  darkling  river ;  and  once 
a  great  splash  in  the  water  close  at  hand  startled  the  oars 
man,  and  the  craft  shot  further  out  toward  the  centre  of  the 
stream.  It  was  a  wolf  marauding  in  the  woods  and  spring 
ing  into  the  water's  edge,  but  although  he  howled  for  a  space 
naught  seemed  to  hear  save  the  solitary  night  and  the  stars 
now  venturing  forth  and  now  lost  in  the  tumult  of  the  un 
quiet  clouds.  The  dank  wind  grew  chillier ;  the  darkness 
more  dense ;  then  came  a  semblance  of  vision  in  which  one 


346  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

realized  rather  than  saw  great  gusty  bursts  of  rain  and 
erratic  flaws  of  wind  striking  across  the  surface  of  the  river. 

At  length  two  vague  pallid  strata  of  dull  clear  sky  re 
vealed  to  Callum  an  old  cornfield,  a  vast  plain  whose  evi 
dence  of  agriculture  was  but  a  memento  of  the  past ;  a 
charred  skeleton  of  a  burnt  Indian  town,  now  without  a 
tenant,  a  relic  of  the  Cherokee  War  ;  the  brown  rain-soaked 
forests  beyond  with  voluminous  clouds  bulging  down  among 
the  treetops ;  the  steely  expanse  of  the  river  swirling  under 
the  fall  of  the  torrents  and  the  rush  of  the  wind ;  and  op 
posite  to  him,  crouching  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  Mingo 
Push-koosh ! 

The  Choctaw,  too,  had  been  keenly  watching  for  the 
earliest  glimmer  of  dawn  that  should  discover  to  him  the 
faces  of  his  silent  comrades,  and  Callum,  although  knowing 
naught  of  the  name  or  rank  or  nature  of  the  man,  recoiled 
from  the  look  in  the  Indian's  eye.  Push-koosh  stared  angrily 
yet  maliciously  at  his  changing  expression,  then  daunted  a 
trifle  by  the  arsenal  of  arms  which  the  Highlanders  of  that 
day  bore,  dirk,  claymore,  pistols,  musket  and  bayonet,  mark 
ing  the  stalwart  strength  evinced  by  the  soldier's  attitude  as 
he  lay  at  his  ease  in  the  bow,  the  Mingo  smoothed  his  ruffled 
crest,  as  if  he  would  treacherously  bide  his  time. 

"  Does  Captain  Howard  count  me  no  human  that  he 
suld  send  me  campaigning  wi'  a  panther  ?  "  Callum  asked 
himself  in  amazement. 

"  The  big  Capteny  thinks  the  two  white  men  will  make 
short  work  of  poor  Prince  Baby,"  Push-koosh  reflected,  and 
when  he  addressed  himself  to  rearranging  his  arms,  as  he 
shortly  did  on  the  pretext  of  protecting  them  from  the 
weather,  he  reloaded  his  pistols  with  balls  previously  dipped 
in  poison  and  thus  rendered  deadlier  than  before,  by  reason 
of  the  extraordinary  aptitude  which  the  Indians  possessed 
in  toxicology. 

Only  one  other  was  of  the  party,  —  the  English  soldier 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  347 

floutingly  called,  from  his  oft-told  experiences  in  Spain,  the 
Senor,  —  "  Sinner "  Kenney.  To  him  the  Highlander 
seemed  hardly  less  savage  than  the  Choctaw.  The  vast 
wilderness,  in  this  strange  and  solitary  duty,  impressed  him 
as  appalling  ;  the  character  of  the  hardships  and  dangers  to 
be  encountered  was  not  what  he  had  expected  ;  his  spirits 
had  sunk  immeasurably  low. 

All  day  long  they  held  their  course  in  the  chill  invisi 
bilities  of  the  mist  and  rain,  two  now  rowing  continually, 
with  the  third  to  lighten  the  labor  by  alternating  regularly 
with  the  others.  The  night  passed  in  the  same  dreary 
fashion,  each  sleeping  by  turns,  that  the  craft  might  make 
all  the  speed  possible.  Little  good-fellowship  prevailed. 
The  Choctaw  hated  them  both  alike  with  the  rancor  of 
his  race  and  his  prejudice  against  aught  that  was  British, 
which  he  had  acquired  from  his  service  with  the  French ; 
and  yet  they  were  formidable  soldiers,  and  their  prowess 
awed  him.  "The  Sinner"  scorned  the  Choctaw  as  alto 
gether  beneath  his  notice,  although  he  repented  swiftly 
any  word  or  act  that  might  be  accounted  overt  aggression, 
for  the  Indian  was  obviously  dangerous.  Connected  con 
versation  was  practicable  only  between  the  two  white  men ; 
but  "  Sinner  "  Kenney  resented  the  Highlander's  repute  of 
superiority  to  his  station,  and  was  by  turns  flippantly  offen 
sive  in  manner  or  surlily  rude.  There  being  no  solid  sub 
stratum  of  good-heartedness  and  comradeship  in  him,  Callum 
felt  that  there  was  no  pulse  in  common  between  them  that 
might  atone  for  the  English  soldier's  boorishness  and  coarse 
manners,  repugnant  to  a  man  of  refined  breeding.  Mac- 
Ilvesty  therefore  had  little  or  nothing  to  say  except  as  re 
garded  the  expediting  of  their  progress,  and  "  the  Sinner's  " 
alternating  jocularities  and  impertinences  failed  for  the  most 
part  to  take  effect  by  reason  of  the  impassiveness  of  the 
Highlander  and  the  lack  of  comprehension  on  the  part  of 
the  Choctaw. 


348  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

After  they  had  entered  the  Savannah  River  "  the  Sinner  n 
began  to  flatter  himself  with  the  prospect  of  meeting  other 
river  craft  —  this  broad  stream  being  a  highway  of  trade  — 
and  of  seeing  denizens  of  the  world  hailing  from  the  region 
below ;  but  his  hopes  of  social  interest  and  cheery  converse 
were  dashed  by  the  rain  and  the  mist  which  closed  down  im 
penetrably.  More  than  one  settlement  they  passed  wrapped 
in  invisibility  in  the  cloud,  as  if  they  themselves  were  some 
undiscriminated  element  of  the  atmosphere.  When  at  last 
the  vapors  began  to  shift  and  the  sun  to  shine  with  a  warmth 
all  at  variance  with  the  calendar,  as  it  was  interpreted  at  Fort 
Prince  George,  where  November,  chill  and  drear,  had  worn 
away,  they  were  once  more  in  the  density  of  the  wilderness  ; 
and  suddenly  one  day,  Push-koosh,  who  was  steering,  gave 
the  boat  a  deft  turn,  sent  it  swiftly  shooting  in  to  the  bank, 
letting  it  run  up  a  little  inlet.  Then  he  sprang  out ;  and 
as  it  was  lightened  of  the  weight  of  Callum,  who  had  stepped 
on  shore,  the  Choctaw  pulled  the  craft  up  on  land  with  the 
amazed  "  Sinner  "  sitting  in  it. 

He  protested.  "  Diablo  !  Are  we  to  leave  the  boat 
here  ?  "  he  cried  aghast,  looking  about  him  at  the  pathless 
subtropical  wilderness. 

"  This  gude  man  kens  the  way,"  said  Callum  with  frigid 
staidness.  "  Here  is  the  captain's  chart  he  gied  me  his  nain- 
sel'." 

The  round  head  of  the  experienced  English  foot-soldier 
bent  over  the  paper.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  place. 
The  inflowing  of  a  little  tributary  on  the  Carolina  side,  the 
proximity  of  a  ridge  hard  by,  a  series  of  prehistoric  tumuli 
at  no  great  distance,  all  sufficiently  identified  the  locality. 
And  what  was  that  indicated  toward  the  southwest,  across 
the  breadth  of  what  is  now  the  State  of  Georgia  —  a  path 
marked  out  in  red  ink  ?  But  there  was  no  corresponding 
suggestion  on  the  face  of  the  tangled  wooded  country. 

"  Voto  d  Dios  !    I  wish  his  '  nainsel' '  was  in  perdition  ! 


A   SPECTEE   OF  POWER  349 

An'  this  is  the  '  gude  man '  who  knows  the  way  !  He  looks 
'  gude '  enough  to  guide  us  to  hell !  Dios  mio  !  "  suddenly 
catching  himself,  "  the  Injun  does  n't  understand  the  lingo, 
does  he  ?  Cielos  !  he  is  a  fearsome  beast !  " 

Callum  imperiously  cut  short  his  complaints  by  striking 
off  through  the  swamp.  Push-koosh,  whose  outlook  at  life 
had  brightened  since  discovering  that  his  comrades  were 
each  as  obnoxious  to  the  other  as  to  him,  and  that  all  three 
were  of  a  mind  only  in  antagonism  to  the  personnel  of  the 
expedition,  did  not  hesitate  to  imitate  the  example.  With 
the  peculiar  easy  gait  of  the  Choctaw  he  set  out  at  a  speed 
that  bade  fair  to  try  the  mettle  of  the  tall  Highlander. 

"  Sinner"  Kenney  lingered.  He  looked  up  the  broad, 
sunny  expanse  of  the  brimming  river,  then  over  to  the  Caro 
lina  side,  noting  the  bright,  soft  aspect  of  the  wintry  world 
that  would  fain  emulate  the  tender,  restful  peace  of  early 
spring.  The  flowers  were  not  dead,  it  seemed  to  say,  only 
asleep,  and  this  bland  zephyr  might  well  rouse  them  with  its 
sweet  blandishments.  The  ripples  played  within  an  oar's 
length  of  the  boat.  He  could  with  his  single  strength  slide 
it  down  into  the  water  and  in  five  minutes  be  rowing  briskly 
on  his  return  trip  to  Fort  Prince  George.  He  would  doubt 
less  be  able  to  devise  some  plausible  explanation  that  would 
pass  muster ;  for  instance,  that  he  had  been  accidentally 
separated  from  his  companions  ;  that  the  Highlander  carried 
the  chart  and  compass  ;  that  thus  lost  in  the  trackless  wilder 
ness  his  only  possibility  of  extrication  had  been  to  take  the 
boat  and  forthwith  return  up  the  river  to  Fort  Prince  George. 

And  indeed  as  he  gazed  adown  the  shadowy  region  of  the 
swamp  on  the  Georgia  side,  he  thought  it  looked  much  like 
a  country  in  which  a  man  might  easily  disappear  never 
to  return.  Albeit  heavily  wooded,  it  was  in  great  part  sub 
merged  with  water  of  varying  depth.  At  the  nearest  verge 
he  marked  a  long  loglike  protuberance,  which  he  realized 
was  an  alligator  half  sunken  in  mud  and  ooze.  A  white 


350  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

heron  gleamed  amidst  the  dusky  aisles,  standing  motionless 
among  those  curious  roots  of  the  cypress  called  "  knees," 
which  projected  high  above  the  dim  surface  of  the  black 
water  wherein  they  grew.  The  long  stately  stems  of  the 
tall  trees  themselves  were  reflected,  pallid  and  columnar,  by 
myriads  from  the  glimmering  dark  expanse  of  the  swamp, 
thus  duplicating  the  densities  of  the  half  submerged  forests, 
funereally  draped  with  hanging  gray  moss  in  endless  fes 
toons.  It  seemed  to  stretch  out  inimitably,  this  nondescript 
world  that  was  neither  navigable  nor  yet  practicable  as  dry 
land.  And  what  might  be  the  result  of  a  failure  to  com 
pass  a  fair  passage  ?  —  and  what  were  the  conditions  of  the 
region  on  the  other  side  ?  All  were  dependent  upon  the 
accuracy  of  Captain  Howard's  chart  of  this  untried,  unknown 
world,  and  the  good  faith  and  fair  dealing  of  Mingo  Push- 
koosh  !  And  still  gazing,  motionless,  intent,  "  the  Sinner  " 
hesitated. 

Down  the  vistas  of  the  forest  the  soldier's  eye  was  sud 
denly  caught  by  the  vanishing  figures  of  the  Highlander  and 
the  Choctaw,  and  the  extraordinary  speed  and  ease  of  their 
gait  struck  his  attention  and  roused  his  emulation. 

"Do  they  think  they  can  beat  me  on  a  forced  march  — 
that  Sawney,  stepping  like  a  crane,  and  the  Choctaw  with 
his  little  bandy  dogtrot  ?  " 

He  critically  appraised  their  powers.  His  professional 
pride  was  enlisted.  He  suddenly  set  his  hands  one  on  each 
side  of  his  trig  little  body,  and  like  machinery  fell  the  sure 
even  lengths  of  the  military  double-quick ;  and  so,  speedily 
overhauling  his  companions,  he  went  with  them  down  into 
the  depths  of  the  dank  forests. 

The  sun  rose  high  above  the  river  and  gilded  the  tip  of 
every  lustrous  dark  wavelet  and  illumined  the  live  oaks 
with  an  emerald  splendor.  In  the  shadowy  swamp  where 
the  "  snowy "  heron  stood  among  the  cypress  knees,  the 
hanging  wealth  of  gray  moss  caught  the  enriching  beams 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  351 

and  glistered,  fibrous  and  silver,  from  the  branches  of  the 
tall  white  marble-like  pillars  of  the  trees.  The  little  boat 
still  lay  empty,  motionless,  within  an  oar's  length  of  the 
dancing  water. 

"  Sinner  "  Kenney  thought  of  the  craft  many  times  after 
ward,  and  sighed  for  its  relinquishment  as  for  a  folly  ;  for  the 
dreary,  mutinous,  fatiguing  experience  set  at  naught  all  the 
numerous  previous  hardships  of  his  chequered  career.  The 
physical  stress  in  itself  was  great.  The  Choctaw,  who  set 
the  pace,  could  keep  the  same  gait  all  day  and  cover  the 
same  great  distance  day  after  day,  a  task  under  which  the 
two  white  men  languished  and  nagged  and  almost  succumbed. 
It  would  have  been  impossible  to  support  the  contempt  of 
Mingo  Push-koosh  in  their  failure,  and  his  triumph  in  his 
own  superiority,  had  it  not  been  for  the  counter-opportunity 
to  jeer  in  turn,  which  was  afforded  them  by  the  oft  recurrence 
of  the  watercourses  in  the  Creek  country ;  for  Push-koosh 
could  not  swim.  Sometimes  an  opportune  tree  uprooted  by 
a  storm  afforded  a  footbridge  for  crossing  a  stream.  More 
frequently  the  rivers  were  of  a  breadth  that  rendered  this  im 
possible,  especially  since  the  autumn  floods  from  the  moun 
tains  had  swollen  them  beyond  all  precedent.  Push-koosh 
must  have  drowned  or  turned  back  but  for  the  assistance  of 
his  comrades,  unwillingly  given,  by  no  means  a  friendly  ser 
vice,  and  only  in  the  interests  of  the  expedition. 

With  a  hand  on  the  shoulder  of  each  stalwart  swimmer, 
Push-koosh,  limp  with  terror  and  horror,  was  propelled 
through  the  water.  He  was  spared  much,  however,  in  that 
he  could  speculate  only  vaguely  on  the  meaning  of  "  the 
Sinner's"  fleer  while  in  transit,  half  intended  to  frighten 
the  Choctaw  and  half  from  natural  and  involuntary  malice. 
"  Vamos  poco  d  poco,  amigo  !  Let 's  drop  him  now,  Saw 
ney  !  Here  is  a  deep  hole !  Porque  no  ? 

They  suffered  much  from  the  weight  of  their  arms  and 
provisions,  for  Captain  Howard  had  wisely  decreed  that 


352  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

each  should  he  his  own  commissariat  and  none  the  "burden 
bearer  of  the  others,  and  when  the  Highlander  lost  his  salt 
in  the  river  neither  of  the  other  two  would  give  him  of 
their  store,  and  the  food  of  Callum  Macllvesty  was  bitter 
for  a  more  aesthetic  reason,  as  he  ate  it  unsalted  beside  the 
fire  at  night,  each  man  cooking  for  himself.  They  wrangled 
much,  despite  their  lack  of  verbal  facilities ;  they  quarrelled 
over  their  chart,  their  compass,  the  possibilities  of  shorten 
ing  the  way  by  deviating  from  their  instructions  and  essay 
ing  a  more  direct  route,  and  sometimes  their  relations  dur 
ing  the  day  would  become  so  strained  that  as  they  lay  down 
by  the  camp-fire  at  night,  they  were  fairly  afraid  of  one 
another,  lest  malice  develop  into  menace.  The  Scotchman 
had  his  national  quarrel  with  the  Englishman,  and  called 
him  "  pock  pudding,"  and  threatened  to  "  knock  his  harns 
out."  The  Englishman  derided  the  poverty  of  the  Scots, 
and  told  gleeful  tales  of  the  lack  of  sophistication  of  "  High 
land  recruities  "  in  his  experience,  in  comparison  with  whom, 
he  declared,  Push-koosh,  the  Choctaw,  was  a  man  of  the 
world.  Push-koosh  laughed  alike  at  the  Highlander's  kilt 
and  the  English  soldier's  scarlet  breeches.  "  The  Sinner  " 
twitted  the  Choctaw  for  his  artificially  flattened  head ;  and 
they  all  would  decline  to  mend  the  camp-fire  to  keep  off  the 
wolves  until  green  eyes  would  be  glistening  close  at  hand  in 
the  underbrush,  and  the  growl  that  heralds  the  pouncing 
spring  would  sound  threateningly  on  the  chill  night  air. 
But  the  preeminent  triumph  of  Push-koosh  came  when 
they  encountered  more  savage  denizens  of  the  woods  than 
wolves.  His  was  the  craft  to  detect  the  approach  of  other 
Indians ;  to  avoid  rencontre ;  to  erase  all  trace  of  their  pas 
sage  through  the  woods  ;  to  slip  like  a  ghost,  invisible  as  it 
were,  between  camps  under  cover  of  darkness  ;  to  skirt  with 
infinite  skill  the  verges  of  Indian  towns.  Once  they  were 
followed  by  a  dog,  baying  discovery  at  every  step,  at  last 
coming  so  close  that  only  the  discharge  of  an  arrow  stilled 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  353 

his  telltale  cry.  Once,  strangely  enough,  a  little  child  tot 
tered  along  the  deer  path  after  them,  with  some  vague  mis 
take  of  identity  in  its  infantile  brain,  and  Push-koosh,  being 
minded  to  thus  effectively  stop  its  approach,  —  "  'T  is  but 
a  Muscogee,"  he  said,  —  Callum  placed  his  pistol  at  the 
Mingo's  temple,  and  even  "  the  Sinner  "  threatened  reprisal. 
In  the  midst  of  the  wrangle  some  aboriginal  instinct  of  dan 
ger  stirred  in  the  adventurous  three-year-old,  and  after  one 
long  dismayed,  open-eyed,  and  open-mouthed  stare,  it  turned 
about  on  its  fat  legs  and  took  its  tottering  flight  homeward, 
too  young  to  recount  what  it  had  seen  or  to  understand  what 
it  feared. 

As  they  neared  the  southern  confines  of  the  Muscogee 
country  the  Indian  towns  became  more  frequent,  and  detec 
tion  by  bands  of  Creeks  coming  and  going  through  was  im 
minent.  This  was  the  extreme  crisis  of  peril,  for  naught 
could  save  the  lives  of  the  two  British  soldiers  and  their 
Choctaw  guide  if  captured  in  this  expedition  through  the 
country  of  the  inimical  Muscogees,  who  now  were  impa 
tiently  awaiting  the  signal  of  their  French  liberator  to  rise 
with  all  the  united  Indian  tribes  against  the  English  rule. 

Now  it  was  that  the  individual  traits  of  each  of  the  party 
were  asserted  in  such  wise  as  to  demonstrate  the  wisdom  of 
the  commandant's  choice  of  the  personnel  of  the  expedition, 
—  the  long-headed  Callum's  cool  and  adroit  adaptation  of 
even  disasters  to  the  common  advantage,  and  his  steady  en 
durance  in  the  face  of  dangers ;  the  resources  of  the  pluck 
and  experience  of  the  English  soldier ;  the  woodcraft,  the 
knowledge  of  Indian  wiles  and  Indian  counterwiles  of  the 
Mingo.  The  hardy,  invincible  courage  of  all  three  animated 
them  like  a  common  pulse,  and  they  clung  together  now 
with  a  unanimity  of  sentiment  that  might  hardly  have  been 
expected  from  their  earlier  lack  of  all  the  sterling  qualities 
that  make  up  good  comradeship.  Howard  had  expected 
only  one  of  the  two  white  men  to  endure  to  the  end,  to 


854  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

survive  the  hardships  of  the  march,  the  inimical  chances 
of  environment,  or  internecine  strife  amongst  the  three  ; 
but  the  trio  were  still  together  one  afternoon  when  they 
emerged  from  the  woods  on  a  bluff  overhanging  the  Flint 
Kiver  on  the  east,  and  there  lay  prone  upon  the  ground, 
silent,  not  so  much  as  moving  a  muscle,  invisible,  save  to 
the  floating  American  vulture  circling  high  in  the  air  in 
the  majestic  curves  of  its  strong  flight.  The  opposite  banks 
were  low  and  fringed  with  woods,  and  beyond  and  above,  the 
red  sunset  of  the  lonely  aboriginal  days  deployed  through 
the  sky  like  a  pageant.  Naught  broke  the  infinite  stretch 
of  the  wilderness,  no  shadow  of  cloud  impinged  on  the  glis 
ter  of  the  river.  That  the  foot  of  man  had  ever  touched 
these  deep  reclusive  solitudes  only  a  great  mound,  artificially 
constructed,  silent,  imposing,  surmounted  with  forest  growths 
nurtured  by  the  summers  of  a  thousand  years,  attested  his 
presence,  his  hopes,  his  griefs,  and  the  futility  of  all.  Some 
how  its  outline,  imposed  with  such  significance  against  the 
range  of  purple  hills  in  the  distance,  stretching  afar  off 
under  the  red  and  amber  sky,  added  a  melancholy  to  the 
languorous  burnished  haze,  the  slow  down-dropping  of  the 
royal  sun,  so  splendidly  vermilion,  and  bespoke  a  mysterious 
past  and  a  future  to  come  as  unrevealed. 

The  air  was  bland  with  all  the  suavity  of  a  southern  win 
ter.  The  foliage  had  changed  as  the  successive  stages  of 
their  journey  had  led  them  on,  as  though  they  bore  with 
them  some  benignant,  embellishing  secret  that  blessed  the 
world  as  they  advanced.  No  more  the  ice-girt  bare  bough, 
the  sere  leaf  flying  before  the  blast.  The  live  oak,  the  mag 
nolia,  the  laurel,  lifted  splendid  redundant  foliage  to  glitter 
glossy  in  the  sun's  last  rays,  and  the  flutter  of  the  paroquets 
made  the  pecans  merry.  At  a  distance  a  palmetto  tree  stood 
out  against  the  sky,  all  solitary,  as  if  some  invisible  sandy 
beach  stretched  below.  The  subtle,  alluring  fragrance  of  the 
anise-tree  was  filling  the  air,  and  the  mocking-bird  sang  in 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  355 

the  eternal  spring,  elated,  even  though  the  night  was  coming 
on  apace. 

The  woods  had  grown  a  gray  purple ;  the  river  chanted 
a  sylvan  rune;  a  star  came  out  in  the  vermilion  sky  and 
shone  aloft  with  a  clear  white  glister ;  and  suddenly  in  the 
red  and  gray  and  green  crystal  lines  of  the  stream  an  alien 
sound  was  borne. 

A  sound  it  was  as  of  paddles,  rythmically  striking  the 
water.  As  it  grew  nearer,  louder,  a  deer  that  had  led  her 
fawn  down  to  drink  on  the  opposite  shore  lifted  her  head, 
snuffed  the  air,  stamped  with  her  feet  all  together,  and  with 
a  bound  was  off,  her  fawn  beside  her,  a  mile  away,  while 
still  the  concentric  circles  that  her  muzzle  had  stirred  in  the 
water  widened  to  larger  circumference,  while  still  the  echo 
of  the  fawn's  vague  bleat  of  alarm  and  surprise  floated  softly 
to  the  bluff  on  the  summit  of  which  the  three  emissaries  lay 
silent. 

And  at  last,  rounding  a  point,  came  a  fleet  of  canoes, 
gaudily  decorated,  an  incident  of  vivid  color  beneath  the 
flaring  sunset,  and  as  vividly  reflected  in  the  smooth  water, 
tinged  with  all  the  secondary  splendors  of  the  evening  glow. 
Beneath  an  umbrella-shaped  fan  of  eagle  feathers  artificially 
mottled  with  crimson  reclined  the  French  officer  Laroche, 
recognizable  by  his  keen  Gallic  features,  his  arrogant  mili 
tary  alertness  of  pose,  albeit  painted  and  arrayed  with  all 
the  aboriginal  splendor  appertaining  to  his  adoptive  state  as  a 
great  "  beloved  man  "  of  the  Cherokee  nation.  His  weapons 
were  a  silver-mounted  dirk  and  ivory-handled  pistols,  while 
fully  armed  stalwart  Cherokees  officiated  as  bodyguard  and 
paddled  the  boat.  The  fleet  shot  so  swiftly  along  that  three 
cautious  heads,  craftily  lifted,  with  cautious  eyes  keenly 
peering,  could  with  difficulty  distinguish  the  fact  that  the 
other  canoes  were  manned  by  Muscogees ;  the  song  that  they 
half  chanted,  half  recited,  was  a  paean  of  greeting  to  the 
beloved  officer  of  the  great  French  king  and  compared  him 


356  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

with  favor  to  sundry  celebrities  of  much  note  and  value  of 
their  own  tribe. 

The  three  barely  waited  till  this  incident  of  the  sunset 
was  past,  seeming  in  its  swiftness,  its  unreality,  some  shim 
mering  illusion  of  the  haze-freighted  air  ;  in  its  wild  chro 
matic  grotesquerie,  some  necromancy  of  the  gorgeous  zenith 
of  amber  and  red,  and  the  responsive  dream  of  the  mirror 
ing  water.  Then  without  one  word  they  rose,  struck  off 
by  a  short  cut  through  the  dank  and  darkening  woods,  and 
night  had  hardly  fallen  before  the  chief  of  Hurricane  Town, 
individually  averse  to  the  French  interest,  was  amazed  by 
the  trooping  in  of  these  incongruous  and  irrelevant  figures 
announcing  themselves  as  the  accredited  emissaries  of  Cap 
tain  Richard  Howard,  and  producing  letters  from  that  officer 
in  support  of  their  assertion,  duly  confirmed  when  read  by 
the  interpreter. 


XIX 

THE  crash  seemed  afterward  to  Laroche  like  the  fall  of 
a  castle  of  cards,  like  the  wreck  wrought  by  the  wind  in 
the  gossamer  symmetries  of  a  cobweb,  like  a  sudden  awak 
ening  to  the  conditions  of  reality  from  the  allurements  of  a 
dream,  so  potent  seemed  the  force,  so  tenuous  the  finespun 
scheme  when  all  its  fibres  were  rent  apart. 

So  unprescient  had  he  been  ! 

It  was  at  0-tel-you-yau-nau  (Hurricane  Town)  that  he 
met  his  fate. 

Following  the  many  windings  of  the  river,  pausing  at 
sundry  villages  by  the  way  to  receive  the  protestations  and 
rivet  the  adherence  of  the  gladly  barkening  Muscogees,  he 
came  to  his  objective  point  late  the  next  afternoon.  A  great 
black  cloud  seemed  to  have  accompanied  him ;  in  its  midst 
were  vivid  darting  lightnings,  frequent  and  menacing  for  a 
time,  ever  and  anon  showing  convolutions  of  the  vapor 
lighter  in  hue  and  texture,  superimposed,  as  it  were,  upon 
the  denser  darker  masses.  Then  all  was  dulled  to  a  uni 
form  consistency  of  tone  and  portent.  The  huts  of  the 
town,  the  public  square,  the  chooc-ofau-thluc-co,  or  rotunda, 
the  fields,  whence  the  late  harvests  had  been  gathered,  all 
were  overshadowed  thus,  and  the  forest  surrounding  them 
seemed  to  support  this  canopy  amongst  its  branches. 

From  out  the  town  the  mico  and  headmen  had  come  to 
greet  him  when  as  their  heralded  guest  he  had  approached. 
With  white  swans'  wings  they  had  gently  stroked  his  face 
on  either  side  a  hundred  times  or  more  as  he  entered  the 
public  square  j  they  had  placed  him  beside  the  mico  on  the 


358  A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

great  white  seat  of  the  chief's  council-room,  mic-ul-gee  in-too- 
pau  ;  they  had  smoked  with  him  the  friend-pipe,  and  the 
cacina  was  brewed.  Now  and  again  sudden  peals  of  thunder 
shook  the  earth,  and  the  yellow  lightnings  illumined  the 
dreary  gray  stretches  of  the  forest  and  cloud  and  river  and 
the  humble  little  town,  all  crouching,  as  it  were,  amidst 
these  harbingers  of  the  wrath  of  the  great  elements. 

So  confident,  so  thoroughly  at  ease  was  Laroche  that  he 
could  not  afterward  remember  when  those  vague  indicia  of 
mental  disquietude  first  became  perceptible  in  the  manner 
of  the  mico  Padgee  (the  Pigeon).  The  French  officer  had 
known  that  this  chief  entertained  doubts  as  to  the  policy 
of  an  intertribal  peace,  as  a  constructive  constraint  upon 
the  powers  and  independence  of  the  Creek  Confederacy. 
Laroche's  mission  to  Hurricane  Town  was  partly  to  set 
at  rest  these  doubts  and  to  present  in  contrast  the  great 
advantages  which  the  Muscogees  would  secure  in  the  aid 
of  all  the  tribal  forces  against  the  English.  Only  united 
strength  and  united  action  could  avail  aught  against  British 
encroachment.  The  national  heads  of  the  Muscogee  Con 
federacy  had  formally  acceded  to  this  view,  but  Padgee  was 
a  man  of  influence,  and  his  unreserved  support  was  desired. 
A  scrupulous  heed  the  mico  seemed  to  give  to  Laroche's 
talk  of  the  advantages  of  the  great  Indian  coalition,  which 
was  to  be  the  subject  of  official  discussion  on  the  morrow 
upon  the  arrival  of  two  other  chiefs  of  the  vicinity,  whose 
wavering  allegiance  he  desired  to  confirm  by  personal  influ 
ence.  Padgee  seemed  to  ponder  in  dubitation  upon  every 
head  of  the  discourse  when,  the  ceremonies  of  welcome  con 
cluded,  the  two  talked  the  matter  over  as  they  sat  apart  in 
the  great  assembly  rotunda.  Once  the  Indian  said  that  the 
plan  of  Iberville  many  years  ago  was  not  then  new.  The 
Muscogee  was  a  union  of  many  adoptive  tribes,  the  great 
Creek  Confederacy,  long  before  Iberville's  idea  of  the  force 
of  a  united  people  was  ever  promulgated.  It  was  the  Creek 


A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER  359 

policy,  —  absorption  and  consolidation.  It  was  also  the 
policy  of  the  Six  Nations,  the  Long  House. 

"It  is  unique  and  new  in  its  aims  and  power,"  Laroche 
argued,  "  the  union  of  all  the  tribes  for  common  aggres 
sion  and  common  defense,  to  maintain  aboriginal  independ 
ence  against  European  intrusion ;  whereas  the  scheme  of  the 
Creek  Confederacy  was  to  protect  Creek  interests  only." 

Padgee  made  haste  to  nod  his  feathered  head  with  a 
mutter  of  acquiescence ;  then  he  fixed  his  eyes  attentively 
upon  the  circling  figures  of  the  tadpole  dance,  Toc-co-yula- 
gau,  performed  by  four  Indian  braves  and  four  squaws  on 
the  hard-trodden  floor  of  the  great  assembly  rotunda.  The 
shadows  duplicated  their  feathered  heads  upon  the  red 
painted  earthen  walls,  and  beyond  the  mad  whirl  of  sub 
stance  and  semblance  Laroche  could  look  forth  through  the 
great  portal  opposite  and  see  the  night  lowering,  purple  and 
black,  and  note  how  the  storm  gathered  and  bided  its  time, 
while  the  yellow  lightnings  now  and  again  keenly  flashed. 
He  began  to  fancy  that  some  deft  hand  had  sown  seeds  of 
dissatisfaction  more  formidable  in  their  upspringing  than 
dragon's  teeth.  He  was  sure  some  English  suggestion  had 
drawn  the  parallel  between  the  limited  policy  of  the  Creek 
Confederacy  and  the  universal  brotherhood  promised  by 
the  union  of  all  tribes.  Still  more  definite  was  the  echo 
of  an  intrusive  voice  in  the  councils  when  Padgee  opined, 
with  many  an  involution,  that  he  loved  old  times  and  old 
ideas  best.  Said  they  of  earlier  years,  —  wiser  than  the 
men  of  to-day,  —  that  it  was  well  that  the  British  and 
French  should  fight  each  other.  Thus  the  Muscogees  be 
tween,  courted  by  both,  had  much  peace  —  except  when  it 
pleased  them  to  conquer  and  absorb  smaller  tribes. 

This  was  impossible  now,  Laroche  argued,  since  the 
Cherokees  had  joined  fortunes  once  and  for  all  with  the 
French,  who  also  commanded  the  Choctaw  allegiance.  The 
Muscogees  could  not  alone  maintain  neutrality. 


360  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

He  spoke  sharply,  and  then  checked  himself  that  he 
should  be  so  definitely  nettled.  Hurricane  Town  was  at 
best  inconsiderable.  Padgee  was  not  a  representative  man. 
To-morrow  would  bring  the  important  chiefs  whose  sus 
pected  dissatisfaction  could  be  obviated  by  conceding  their 
reasonable  desires.  This  was  no  official  occasion,  and  Pad- 
gee  doubtless  was  taking  advantage  of  the  tete-a-tete  to 
bring  forward  his  discontents  that  he  might  be  remembered 
when  lubricating  presents  were  in  order,  to  make  the  pro 
ject  run  the  more  smoothly.  He  was  obviously  talking  to 
hear  himself  talk !  Nevertheless,  Laroche  was  conscious  of 
an  increase  of  impatience  when  the  voice  of  Padgee,  more 
like  a  hawk  than  a  dove,  was  once  more  rising  on  the  air 
with  a  queer  blending  of  plaint  and  discontent  and  apology. 

He  meant  no  harm,  said  Padgee.  He  loved  the  officer 
of  the  great  French  king  like  a  brother.  But  the  British 
goods  were  well  named,  being  good  !  And  he  sighed,  as 
being  loath  to  relinquish  the  values  of  a  trade  so  long 
enjoyed. 

Floutingly,  as  if  he  hardly  cared  to  reply  at  all,  Laroche 
averred  that  French  merchandise  was  famous  for  its  quality 
all  the  world  over,  and  more  than  that,  it  was  cheap. 

Once  more  Padgee  caught  himself  and  protested  that  it 
was  not  for  him  to  say ;  the  Creek  national  headmen  would 
decide  the  question. 

"  They  have  decided  it  long  ago,"  Laroche  interrupted 
him. 

Certainly,  Padgee  was  aware  of  that,  but  he  felt  the  loss. 
0-tel-you-yau-nau  (Hurricane  Town)  had  been  a  favorite 
stand  of  the  British  traders  in  times  past,  and  the  people 
loved  them. 

The  long  serpentine  lines  of  the  lighted  cane  burning  upon 
the  floor  were  growing  dim,  flickering,  dying  out  gradually. 
The  dreary  night  without  in  the  quick  keen  flashes  of  the 
lightning  was  brighter,  more  distinct,  than  the  dome-shaped 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  361 

rotunda  sinking  into  shadow.  The  dance  was  over,  the 
place  nearly  empty  of  people.  Laroche  rose  suddenly  with 
a  more  indubitable  monition  of  treachery.  He  looked  about 
him  for  his  Cherokee  bodyguard.  Secure  among  friends,  he 
had  dismissed  them  to  enjoy  the  hospitalities  and  return  the 
courtesies  of  their  coadjutors  of  the  new  alliance.  Padgee, 
noting  the  movement,  rose  too,  speaking  very  rapidly,  as  if 
there  were  scant  time  to  be  lost,  while  the  great  spaces  of 
the  chooc-ofau-thluc-co  darkened  yet  more  duskily  and  the 
vague  lights  of  the  cane  trembled  to  extinction.  Outside, 
the  lightning  unsheathed  its  vivid  blades,  flashing  athwart 
the  sky,  and  the  thunder  pealed  and  burst  explosively  and 
rolled  away,  muttering,  to  the  further  hills. 

It  was  a  long  time,  said  Padgee  plaintively,  since  a  British 
trader  had  been  able  to  ply  his  kind  and  beneficent  vocation 
in  Hurricane  Town  for  fear  of  the  martial  French  at  Port 
Toulouse ;  and  since  the  Prench  sent  no  traders  to  the  vil 
lages,  save  now  and  then  a  mere  peddler,  slipping  back  and 
forth  from  his  fort,  afraid  of  his  shadow,  the  Indians  of  Hur 
ricane  Town  were  often  utterly  destitute  of  all  those  artifi 
cial  supplies  which  they  needed,  so  civilized  had  they  come 
to  be.  They  were  fit  to  die  of  shame  should  any  one  ob 
serve  how  far  behind  the  fashion  of  the  day  had  they 
trailed.  Only  very  recently  a  Chickasaw  chief  had  come  to 
Hurricane  Town  in  a  splendid  embroidered  suit  from  a  Brit 
ish  trader,  and  he,  the  great  mico,  Padgee,  had  naught  in 
which  to  meet  him  that  was  of  European  manufacture  but  a 
cocked  hat  and  a  pair  of  silver  shoe  buckles. 

He  paused  impressively.  Doubtless  he  felt,  as  one  might 
say  in  the  artistic  jargon  of  this  day,  that  these  articles  did 
not  "compose  well  "  with  the  rest  of  his  attire,  a  shirt  of 
bead-wrought  buckskin  and  leggings  decorated  with  turkey- 
cock  spurs  and  fawn's  trotters.  Laroche  made  no  reply. 
Somehow  the  crisis  tingled  in  his  nerves  like  some  electrical 
current  before  the  event  was  precipitated. 


362  A   SPECTRE  OF   POWER 

Therefore,  Padgee  resumed  very  swiftly,  some  folk  of  a 
town  far  off — he  could  not  just  say  where  —  had  come  up 
to-night  to  meet  the  great  French  officer  and  —  confer  with 
him  concerning  the  condition  of  the  British  trade. 

Laroche  turned  upon  him. 

"  Padgee  !  "  he  exclaimed,  "  is  this  well  ?  I  have  eaten 
your  bread,  I  have  eaten  your  salt !  " 

The  mico  hesitated  at  the  last  moment,  but  half  hearted  in 
his  deceit.  Perhaps  the  appeal  to  the  sanctions  of  his  rude 
hospitality  might  have  availed  even  now,  but  its  force  was 
abrogated  by  the  possibilities.  The  British  soldiers  awaited 
no  longer  the  preconcerted  signal.  Military  figures,  barely 
distinguishable  in  the  gloom  from  other  shadows  of  the  dark 
some  place,  were  climbing  down  from  behind  the  tiers  of 
seats  of  the  primitive  amphitheatre  ;  and  although  one,  "  the 
Sinner/'  lost  his  footing  and  fell  rolling  down  the  descent 
with  great  thumps,  the  Highlander  was  upon  Laroche  so 
quickly,  so  powerfully,  that  his  strong  hand  stifled  the  cry 
for  help. 

It  was  managed  with  infinite  address  and  secrecy,  for 
the  two  British  soldiers  would  have  fallen  victims  to  their 
own  temerity  had  they  dared  to  show  themselves  openly 
and  alone,  among  the  Indians,  if  unprotected  and  at  their 
mercy.  As  to  the  Choctaw,  the  mere  revelation  of  his 
personality,  with  a  price  upon  his  head,  would  have  meant 
his  death.  Therefore  Padgee,  armed  with  his  authority  as 
mico,  headed  the  guard  of  Muscogee  braves,  his  own  attend 
ants,  whom  he  designed  to  send  with  the  captors  to  Fort 
Prince  George,  and  accompanied  them  several  miles  on  the 
return  march.  As  he  had  long  been  inimical  to  the  coalition 
so  earnestly  advocated  by  the  French,  this  fact  was  the  reason 
that  Laroche  had  appointed  Hurricane  Town  as  the  ren 
dezvous  of  the  lukewarm,  that  he  might  be  sure  of  gaining 
the  ear  of  Padgee  and  confirming  his  allegiance  by  argument 
and  the  example  of  others.  It  had  needed  but  a  word  from 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  363 

Push-koosh  to  acquaint  Captain  Howard  with  this  impor 
tant  circumstance,  and  the  British  officer  in  treating  with 
the  chief  of  Hurricane  Town  had  held  out  prospects  of  high 
advancement.  Thereafter  Padgee  had  no  need  to  complain 
of  the  lack  of  gold  and  European  gewgaws  when  visited  by 
strangers ;  in  fact,  he  was  in  case  to  disport  himself  with 
a  pride  in  apparel  that  might  better  befit  a  peacock  than  the 
humble  pigeon  whose  name  he  bore. 

When  the  populace  outside  of  the  rotunda  learned  that  the 
great  French  "  beloved  man"  had  been  arrested  mysteriously 
in  the  British  interest,  they  received  the  news  with  a  wild 
outcry  of  despair  and  muttered  threats  and  even  efforts  at 
rescue.  More  than  one,  especially  in  the  neighboring  towns, 
suspected  that  the  indifference  of  Padgee  to  the  success  of 
the  French  schemes  might  have  contributed  to  the  catas 
trophe,  but  none  dreamed  that  the  hospitality  of  Hurricane 
Town  had  been  violated,  that  Padgee  had  renounced  the 
guest  within  the  gates  and  delivered  him  up  to  his  enemies, 
to  be  dragged  away  by  force  to  a  cruel  doom.  Hours  had 
passed — indeed  it  was  near  day — before  the  news  transpired, 
and  although  the  Cherokee  bodyguard  set  out  at  once  upon 
the  trail  of  the  captors,  they  soon  found  that  time  itself 
could  not  overtake  the  party.  For  themselves  they  were  few, 
unprepared,  in  a  country  bristling  with  hostile  conditions, 
for  the  commandant  at  Fort  Toulouse,  as  soon  as  apprised 
of  the  catastrophe,  sent  out  a  detachment  to  attempt  a 
rescue,  and  the  Cherokees  feared  to  be  held  accountable  for 
the  capture  of  the  French  officer  as  for  a  lapse  of  vigilance. 
They  therefore  relinquished  the  effort,  took  moodily  to  their 
boat,  refusing  the  tearful  condolences  of  Hurricane  Town, 
and  pulled  up  the  Flint  River  again,  lamenting  loudly  all 
the  way,  to  the  Cherokee  country. 

What  thoughts  came  to  Laroche  that  stormy  night  as  he 
half  toiled  and  was  half  dragged  among  his  captors  through 
the  tangled  ways  of  the  wilderness  !  A  thousand  vain  re- 


364  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

grets  tortured  him.  The  recapitulation  of  events  that  might 
have  been  ordered  otherwise  trailed  in  long  sequences 
through  his  mind.  A  vision  constantly  recurred  of  a  result 
so  different,  seeming  so  real,  that  only  a  slight  wrench  of 
will  would  be  requisite  to  tear  him  from  this  oppressive 
dream  which  surely  must  needs  presently  dissolve  in  obvi 
ous  fact. 

Nevertheless  his  intellectual  faculties,  heedful  of  cause 
and  effect,  perceived  that  the  flight  was  ordered  with  a  craft 
that  bade  fair  to  eliminate  all  chance  of  rescue  or  escape. 
That  they  should  take  their  way  to  the  north  or  diagonally 
across  Georgia  was  so  obviously  their  proper  policy  that  Pad- 
gee  turned  their  steps  directly  to  the  south,  whence  none 
would  dream  of  following.  To  increase  the  distance  more 
effectually  and  obliterate  the  traces  of  their  passage  through 
the  country,  he  availed  himself  of  his  own  boat,  hidden 
among  the  saw-grass  of  the  marshy  borders  of  a  neighboring 
watercourse,  down  which  they  rowed  and  drifted  out  of  all 
calculations  of  pursuit.  Indeed  this  deviation  took  them  so 
far  to  the  south  that  they  could  discern  the  tang  of  salt 
water  on  the  breeze,  and  hear  the  voice  of  the  surf  singing 
the  iterative  song  of  the  sea.  Only  then  did  they  disembark 
and  take  up  the  line  of  march  toward  the  Savannah  River 
once  more. 

Their  progress  was  infinitely  laborious ;  the  weather  had 
clouded,  and  rain  filled  the  marshes  and  overflowed  the 
streams.  Often  a  fire  was  impracticable,  and  without  shel 
ter,  short  of  food,  in  terror  of  capture,  and  now  and  again 
endangered  by  faction,  the  sufferings  of  the  captors  were 
hardly  discounted  by  the  anguish  of  the  prisoner.  Only 
once  did  a  chance  of  escape  present  itself. 

Laroche  had  observed  that  the  Highlander,  now  taking 
command  of  the  party,  according  to  his  orders,  studiously 
prevented  any  opportunity  for  the  prisoner  to  speak  apart 
with  any  single  individual.  Macllvesty  had  of  course  dis- 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  365 

armed  Laroche  and  taken  from  him  all  such  valuables  as 
might  tempt  the  integrity  of  the  others. 

"  Is  this  a'  your  gowd  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Untie  my  hands  and  receive  my  parole,  or  else  run  your 
own  risks/'  retorted  the  French  officer. 

"  An'  fine  wad  I  like  to  do  that,  hut  it  is  contrary  to 
my  orders,"  said  Callum  kindly,  "  sae  I  maun  e'en  look  to 
you  mysel'." 

This  he  did  with  a  vigilance  that  showed  no  possibility 
of  relaxation  till  one  stormy  night  when  they  gained  once 
more  the  banks  of  the  Savannah  Eiver  and  found  their  fur 
ther  progress  barred  ;  for  their  boat,  left  there,  to  serve  their 
return,  had  vanished. 

It  was  near  dawn  when  they  made  this  discovery.  The 
rain  had  ceased  at  last,  though  the  clouds  were  still  scudding 
through  the  gusty  sky.  A  late  waning  moon  showed  in  the 
east,  infinitely  melancholy  in  the  cloud-rack  of  the  tempest. 
The  simple  voices  of  the  denizens  of  the  swamp,  overawed 
to  silence  by  the  violence  of  the  storm,  resumed  their  vague 
indiscriminate  nocturne,  the  shrilling  of  a  screech-owl,  at 
intervals  the  noisy  clangor  of  cranes,  and  once  the  blood 
curdling  scream  of  a  catamount.  The  party  had  halted  on 
the  crest  of  a  ridge  overlooking  the  swollen  watercourse, 
lashed  to  a  swifter  current  by  the  turbulence  of  the  wind. 
The  boat,  which  they  had  left  with  every  security  in  this 
solitary  place,  had  been  yet  more  definitely  concealed.  A 
tricksy  gust  had  upset  it,  and  in  the  glimmering  light,  as  it 
floated  bottom  upward,  it  was  not  recognized. 

As  the  two  British  soldiers  patroled  the  banks,  and  now 
consulted  together,  and  again  hastily  resumed  the  search, 
Push-koosh,  standing  near  the  prisoner,  looking  backward 
over  his  shoulder  again  and  again,  murmured  against  this 
loss  of  time.  Then  once  more  he  scanned  the  woodsy  track 
by  which  they  had  come,  all  glistening  with  moisture,  and 
illumined  by  the  drear  light  of  the  waning  moon.  He  so 


366  A  SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

obviously  feared  a  rescue,  that  Laroche's  heart  could  but 
plunge  at  the  prospect.  A  heron  cried  out  dismally  from 
the  dense  cane  and  marshy  tangles  beside  the  river,  attest 
ing  the  solitude.  If  but  the  rope  that  bound  his  hands  were 
cut!  The  two  men  on  the  margin  below  passed  the  boat 
and  repassed  it,  as  held  by  its  sheet-chain  tangled  about  the 
submerged  roots  of  a  tree,  its  capsized  bottom  seemed  but 
a  boulder  washed  by  the  ripples  as  it  lay  in  the  shadow. 
As  once  more  Push-koosh  glanced  warily,  impatiently,  over 
his  shoulder,  Laroche  suddenly  bethought  himself  of  the 
peculiarities  of  his  character  and  the  details  of  their  long 
service  together.  There  was  no  mistaking  his  identity,  — 
it  was  sufficiently  attested  by  the  contour  of  his  head,  with 
the  silver  band  on  his  flat  forehead,  the  red  flamingo 
feathers  all  tipped  with  silver  by  the  moon,  and  the  beau 
tiful  tones  of  his  velvet  voice  as  he  muttered  his  Choctaw 
imprecations. 

"Ah,  Push-koosh,"  cried  Laroche  softly,  a  vibration  of 
hope  and  joy  in  his  tone,  "  mon  Bebe,  mon  petit  ckou  !  Je 
reconnais  bien  ton  bon  cceur." 

Push-koosh  turned  instantly  and  looked  straight  at  the 
French  officer.  The  moonlight  was  full  in  the  Indian's 
dark  inscrutable  eyes. 

"  There  is  gold  in  the  bottom  of  my  tobacco  bag,  Prince 
Baby,  —  much  gold.  Cut  this  rope  and  it  is  yours  !  " 

An  instant  of  doubt,  and  then  the  Choctaw  approached 
with  that  sly  supple  motion  so  like  the  step  of  a  catamount. 
One  stroke  of  his  knife  and  Laroche  would  be  free  to  flee 
through  the  marshy  forests,  while  the  two  British  soldiers 
and  the  Muscogee  tribesmen  hunted  for  the  boat  that  was 
before  their  eyes,  and  wrangled  till  the  echoes  were  loud  and 
discordant. 

The  Choctaw's  touch  was  laid,  not  upon  the  pouch  with 
its  treasure  amidst  the  tobacco  that  had  escaped  the  search 
of  the  Highlander,  but  upon  the  bound  hands  held  out  to 


A   SPECTKE   OF  POWER  367 

him  with  a  piteous  eagerness  of  entreaty.  Then  looking 
the  captive  directly  in  the  eye,  Push-koosh  said  with  an 
indescribable  fullness  of  significant  reminder,  " Eho  choo- 
koma  !  "  (the  beautiful  woman  !) 


XX 

THE  snow  lay  deep  at  Fort  Prince  George  when  they  re 
turned.12  The  air  was  now  clear  of  flakes,  invested  with 
that  strange  absolute  funereal  stillness  characteristic  of  the 
muffled  world,  but  the  sky  was  still  darkly  gray  and  with 
a  menace  in  its  motionless  solemnity.  The  roofs  of  the 
block-houses  and  barracks  showed  densely  white  against  the 
slate-colored  clouds ;  not  even  about  the  great  smoking 
chimneys  was  a  trace  of  thaw.  The  palisades  that  sur 
mounted  the  unbroken  white  walls  of  the  rampart  upheld 
fluffy  drifts  lodged  among  the  sharp-pointed  stakes.  The 
glacis  was  only  such  a  faint  outline  as  might  remain  in  vague 
traces  of  a  prehistoric  work.  The  prickly  branches  of  a 
strong  abatis  on  two  sides  of  the  fort  thrust  out  darkly  from 
the  overwhelming  banks  like  the  protest  of  a  buried  forest. 
The  thousand  stumps,  relics  of  the  encampment  of  Colonel 
Grant's  army  here  the  preceding  year,  were  utterly  sub 
merged,  and  gave  more  than  one  of  the  approaching  party  a 
headlong  fall  as  the  two  British  soldiers,  the  Choctaw  Mingo, 
and  the  Muscogee  guard,  with  their  prisoner,  all  half  frozen, 
dead  beat,  and  nearly  starved,  came  within  view  from  the 
gates.  The  ditch  was  half  full  of  ice,  solid  as  a  rock,  but  the 
heart  of  the  sentry  was  all  aglow  to  behold  them  at  a  dis 
tance,  and  his  jubilant  call,  "  Corporal  of  the  guard  !  "  reached 
them  as  they  struggled  across  the  intervening  spaces  with 
the  grateful  realization  that  they  were  not  to  be  kept  waiting 
for  identification,  while  the  last  resources  of  endurance  gave 
way  at  the  moment  of  rescue  and  the  portal  of  refuge. 

A  clangor  of  weapons,  keen  and  clear  on  the  icy  air,  the 


A   SPECTRE  OF  POWER  369 

tramp  of  marching  feet,  the  glitter  of  steel  and  scarlet  cloth, 
came  to  them  through  the  great  gate,  following  hard  on  the 
cry  to  turn  out  the  guard.  In  less  than  five  minutes  the 
red  glow  of  great  fires,  ardent  spirits  unsparingly  adminis 
tered,  hot  food,  and  the  comforts  of  beds  and  blankets  in 
vested  the  recollection  of  the  struggle  through  the  snow, 
the  tramp  of  more  than  two  hundred  miles,  the  dangers  and 
vicissitudes  of  the  journey  with  a  certain  unreality,  seeming 
rather  something  they  had  wildly  dreamed,  were  it  not  for 
the  testimony  of  each  to  reinforce  the  memory  of  the  others. 
Exhaustion  limited  their  capacity  for  expression,  but  the 
whole  fort  rejoiced  in  their  stead.  The  news  flew  abroad 
like  the  flocks  of  snowbirds  all  undaunted  by  the  temper 
ature.  The  tale  of  the  notable  capture  was  told  over  and 
again  in  the  guard-room,  in  the  officers'  mess-room,  in  the 
barracks,  and  the  farrier's  smithy ;  over  the  making  of  the 
clumsy  cartridges  of  that  day  for  the  little  cannon  on  the 
bastions,  and  around  the  mending  of  guns  in  the  armorer's 
forge ;  in  the  wigwams  of  the  Indian  hunters  and  camp  fol 
lowers  of  whatever  sort  whose  temporary  habitations  were  on 
the  outside  of  the  works ;  in  the  Cherokee  town  of  Keowee, 
hard  by,  and  at  Jock  Lesly's  trading-house.  Even  down  into 
the  depths  of  the  earth  to  the  Scotchman's  subterranean 
ingle-neuk  it  penetrated,  and  there  it  found  Lilias  sitting  on 
a  buffalo  rug  before  the  red  fire,  her  hands  clasped  tightly, 
her  eyes  wildly  dilated,  pale  to  the  lips,  and  with  her  heart 
fluttering  frantically,  painfully,  hopelessly,  like  one  of  the 
many  birds  perishing  without,  whose  wings,  swift  though 
they  were,  had  beat  futilely  against  the  infinite  forces  of  des 
tiny  embodied  in  the  storm  ;  for  she  —  and  she  only  —  saw 
aught  beyond  cause  of  gratulation  in  the  capture  of  the  tur 
bulent  French  emissary,  the  destroyer  of  the  peace  of  the 
frontier,  the  arch-plotter,  the  organizer  of  Indian  armies,  the 
reconciler  of  Indian  feuds,  the  confederator  of  all  Indian 
tribes  into  one  great  united,  potent  structure  of  government 


870  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

financed  and  armed  through  Spanish  and  French  aid,  before 
which  British  colonial  occupation  could  hardly  stand  for  a 
day. 

"  Callum  took  the  man  !  It  was  Callum,  and  he  maun 
hae  the  credit  I "  Jock  Lesly  jubilantly  declared  as  he  sat 
rubbing  his  hands  by  the  fire,  his  snowy  match-coat  send 
ing  up  a  steam  as  the  drifts  melted  from  it,  for  he  was  just 
returned  from  the  fort.  "  Captain  Howard  is  as  gleg  as  a 
grig !  He  hae  won  his  majority  by  this  bit  o'  wark,  I  mak 
nae  dout ! " 

"  What  will  be  the  Frenchman's  name  ?  "  demanded  Lilias, 
her  lips  dry  as  she  stared,  dismayed,  startled,  forlorn,  into  the 
fire. 

"A-weel — a-weel  —  hinny,  and  that's  the  curious  part  of 
it !  It 's  that  Tarn  Wilson,  the  loon  we  nursed  clear  of  the 
fever !  And  I  misdoubts  it 's  misprision  o'  treason,  or  some  o' 
thae  unchancy  crimes  —  only  we  kenned  naught  aboot  him ! " 
And  Jock  Lesly's  rich  rollicking  laughter  filled  the  room. 

"  He  helped  us  out  o'  the  kentry,  an'  kep'  Moy  Toy  frae 
takin'  our  scalps  !  "  she  replied  reproachfully. 

Jock  Lesly  paused  to  look  down  at  her  gravely,  his  big 
eyes  round.  "  Hout,  fie ! "  he  ejaculated.  "  Ony  French  chiel 
protect  me!  An'  frae  auld  Moy  Toy,  that  I  have  foregathered 
wi'  ever  since  the  kentry  was  built !  Mair  likely  he  spirited 
up  the  chief  to  trouble  us  an'  to  burn  my  tradin' -house  an* 
a'  my  gear !  It  seems  to  me  I  jaloosed  su'thin'  o'  the  sort  at 
ane  time !  Na,  na,  Lilias ;  if  he  helped  us  at  a',  it  was  lest 
our  murder  hurt  the  French  interest  an'  set  the  British  at  the 
Injuns  afore  the  chiels  were  ready  for  their  bluidy  wark." 

She  gazed,  deeply  serious,  at  the  fire.  She  too  thought  this 
more  than  likely,  in  the  light  of  what  she  had  known  ear 
lier,  and  knew  more  certainly  now.  She  gave  a  long  sigh  of 
pity  for  the  captive  ;  but  these  were  the  fortunes  of  war  that 
every  soldier  must  needs  risk,  and  with  which  women  had 
no  concern. 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  371 

"  Na,  bairn,  na  !  "  her  father  boasted.  "  Auld  Jock  Lesly 
can  tak  care  o'  his  ain,  an'  hae  dune  it  this  mony  a  day ! 
He  needna  hae  Tarn  Wilson  cluttered  up  wi'  heed  o'  him  an7 
his  !  But,  lass ! "  he  broke  into  a  roar  of  jovial  laughter, 
"  to  see  up  yon  at  the  fort  the  major  —  hegh,  sirs,  it 's  for 
luck  that  I  suld  sae  miscall  the  captain  —  ter  see  him  gloat 
ower  Everard.  He  canna  be  quit  o'  glorifying  that  he  tuk 
him  in  sae  hard  a  measure  when  Everard  had  him  like  a 
bird  in  a  trap." 

"  What  for  did  Lieutenant  Everard  let  him  slip  ?  "  she 
asked,  turning  her  head  upward  to  look  at  her  father's  face. 

"  A  fule  needs  no  reason,  lass,  for  bein'  a  fule,  but  he 
wadna  believe  Callum,  because  the  lad  could  urge  naething 
except  that  the  man  spoke  French  —  which  Callum  himseP 
can  do,  though  that  wad  never  prove  him  a  toad. " 

"  An'  how  is  it  that  this  captain  was  sae  muckle  wiser  ?  " 
persisted  Lilias.  "  Lieutenant  Everard  is  a  finer  lookin' 
man  than  Captain  Howard,  an'  his  hair  curls  amaist  as  weel 
as  mine." 

"  Oh,  ho  !  "  shouted  Jock  Lesly,  smiting  his  thigh  in  the 
fervor  of  his  relish,  "that  only  proves  he  has  the  better 
thatch,  not  the  bigger  house  !  A-weel,  now  —  a-weel  —  ilka 
man  suld  hae  his  due  !  'T  was  not  till  lately  —  an'  Lieuten 
ant  Everard  was  gone  —  that  Callum  learned  for  sure  that  the 
man  is  French,  —  for  you  see  the  fallow  himsel',  —  and  he 
is  a  fule  too,  for  all  his  hair  curls,  —  he  tauld  a  woman  that 
he  is  French  and  gave  her  his  name  and  employ,  and  the 
woman  tauld  Callum  !  My  certie,  in  ilka  mischief  there  's 
aye  a  woman  at  wark ! "  Then  with  a  changed  note,  "  Hegh, 
Lilias  !  "  he  exclaimed  sharply. 

For  Lilias,  screaming,  had  sprung  to  her  feet.  It  was  she 
—  and  she  saw  it  now  —  who  had  delivered  him  bound  and 
helpless  into  the  hands  of  his  enemy  !  She  cared  not  for 
him  now  as  Tarn  WTilson,  but  for  the  awful  responsibil 
ity  she  had  taken.  Her  habitual  candor  was  beaten  back 


372  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

upon  her  lips  by  the  untoward  effects  of  her  recent  disclo 
sure.  She  restrained  with  difficulty  the  childlike  impulse  to 
reveal  the  mystery  to  her  father,  who  was  alarmed,  amazed, 
agitated.  She  protested  that  the  fire  had  burned  her,  flinging 
out  a  spark,  and  demanded  peevishly  why  he  must  needs  be 
always  sending  such  crackling  and  splitting  varieties  of  wood 
to  their  hearth  in  the  cave-house.  With  wisps  of  his  frowzy 
light  hair  falling  over  his  florid  face  as  he  bent  his  head,  he 
was  presently  stepping  about  to  find  the  blazing  splinter  in 
the  buffalo  rug,  and  although  he  now  and  again  desisted, 
with  the  comment  "  A-weel,  it  will  no  set  this  biggin'  in  a 
low  ! "  he  shortly,  with  the  force  of  habit,  commenced  the 
search  anew. 

It  was  the  custom  of  Lilias  to  avoid  the  trading-house, 
for  she  was  more  fastidious  and  exacting  than  her  sim 
ple  opportunities  might  seem  to  imply.  But  Jock  Lesly 
was  by  no  means  poor,  and  it  had  been  his  delight  to  lav 
ish  such  luxuries  as  in  his  limited  apprehension  he  ac 
counted  desirable  upon  his  only  child,  and  thus  she  had 
been  reared  in  a  degree  beyond  her  station.  To-day,  how 
ever,  she  was  here,  there,  and  everywhere,  listening  to  the 
loud  jocular  comments  of  a  few  of  the  soldiers  from  the  fort, 
who  were  now  and  again  in  the  store  and  disposed  to  talk 
of  the  capture.  The  transition  thence  was  obviously  to 
gossip  about  the  prisoner.  A  hearty,  well-favored  lad  he 
was,  so  they  understood  from  the  detail  that  had  captured 
him.  He  had  given  them  little  trouble,  and  they  liked  him 
well.  He  was  a  proper  lad  and  active  afoot,  and  bore  the 
hardships  of  the  march  finely.  They  hardly  knew  what  to 
do  with  him  at  the  fort  till  he  could  be  sent  forward  to 
Charlestown.  They  thought  Captain  Howard  himself  was 
puzzled  as  to  the  method  of  his  disposition.  Certainly,  — 
in  reply  to  a  question  from  Jock  Lesly,  —  military  prisoners, 
that  is,  French  officers,  had  been  in  times  past  kept  in  the 
hospital,  and  giving  their  parole  had  been  permitted  occa- 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  373 

sionally  the  freedom  of  the  parade  ground.  This  fellow, 
however,  was  captured  out  of  uniform  and  without  osten 
sible  military  employ,  and  would  be  held  as  a  civil  prisoner, 
though  they  had  him  now  hard  and  fast  in  the  guard-house. 
The  talk  of  peace  negotiations  with  France  would  do  him 
no  good,  —  the  stirrer-up  of  savages  on  the  frontier,  just 
subdued  by  the  English  at  so  great  a  cost  of  blood  and 
treasure,  and  at  peace  with  the  colonies,  would  never  lack 
for  a  charge  in  Charlestown  that  would  stick.  He  would 
be  accused  of  murders,  and  of  the  instigation  of  those  mas 
sacres  that  had  already  violated  the  peace  negotiated  with 
the  Cherokees.  And  then  one  of  the  soldiers  passed  his 
hand  across  his  throat  with  an  ugly  gesture,  rolled  up  his 
eyes  with  a  leer,  and  gave  a  click  of  the  tongue  inexpressi 
bly  loathsome,  at  which,  unaccountably,  they  all  laughed. 

Lilias,  hovering  about  among  the  swaying  fabrics  depend 
ing  from  the  beams,  turned  sick  and  faint.  She  it  was  who 
had  done  this,  in  her  foolish  inadvertence  thinking  that 
all  was  now  known  to  Callum,  —  she,  who  had  the  man's 
secret  that  she  had  promised  never  to  tell  —  nay,  he  had 
voluntarily  trusted  himself  to  her  honor ! 

Her  face  was  drawn  and  white.  The  chill  of  the  day 
was  in  her  heart.  As  one  of  the  Indians  whisked  a  hand 
mirror  into  which  he  was  gazing  with  gurgling  rapture  at  his 
hideous  countenance,  she  caught  sight  of  her  own  reflection, 
so  wan,  so  appealing,  so  agonized,  that  she  braced  her  nerves 
anew  that  her  face  might  not  betray  her  grief,  although  she 
felt  at  the  end  and  hoped  naught. 

A  number  of  the  braves  of  the  Muscogee  escort  who  had 
participated  in  the  march  subsequent  to  the  capture  of  the 
prisoner  had  repaired,  although  exhausted  and  half  drunk,  to 
the  trading-house  as  inevitably  as  the  needle  to  the  pole,  and 
were  engaged  in  delightedly  rummaging  such  of  its  trifles  as 
were  accessible.  They  were  meeting  with  special  welcome  at 
Fort  Prince  George,  at  the  officers'  quarters,  the  barracks,  the 


374  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

kitchen,  the  trading-house  being  generously  treated,  their 
services  having  proved  available  in  so  serious  an  emergency. 
Naturally  with  such  subjects,  their  instinct  was  to  impose  upon 
this  disposition,  and  to  magnify  the  obligations  it  betokened. 

"  Haud  a  care,  Dougal,"  Jock  Lesly  charged  the  under- 
trader.  "  Thae  chiels  covet  ilka  bawbee's  worth  in  the 
house,  an'  Providence  permittin'  I  suld  like  fine  to  save  the 
roof !  " 

Perhaps  it  was  this  absorption  that  caused  him  to  be  more 
oblivious  of  Lilias  to-day  than  usual,  though  even  in  its 
midst  he  had  a  heedful  notice  of  her.  "Hegh,  lass,"  he 
stopped  her  once  in  passing,  "  but  ye  hae  a'  the  snaw  in 
your  face  the  day,  an'  your  bonny  blue  e'en  are  a  wee  dreary. 
I  misdoots  the  climate  here  wi'  a'  its  changes  an'  cantrips 
isna  suited  to  ye  like  Charlestoun.  Gae  doun  to  the  fire  in 
the  ha'  house  ;  it 's  warmer  there." 

When  she  quitted  the  trading-house  he  did  not  know. 
She  was  all  alone,  attended  only  by  the  old  collie,  who 
would  not  be  driven  back,  although  she  childishly  pinched 
his  ears  and  pulled  his  tail  and  put  him  to  all  the  pain 
she  could.  Her  visit  to  the  fort  was  a  very  distinct  sur 
prise  to  Captain  Howard  and  contravened  his  impressions 
of  her  hitherto.  Being  a  man  of  about  forty-five  years  of 
age,  and  having  daughters  of  his  own  far  awa^,  he  enter 
tained  rather  strict  ideas  of  the  becoming  in  maidenly  con 
duct.  It  may  have  been  her  own  natural  dignity,  or  the 
arrogance  of  a  girl  reared  beyond  her  station,  or  the  indiffer 
ence  of  one  perceiving  the  raw  material  of  suitors  apparently 
inexhaustible  in  the  garrisons  of  the  frontier,  but  she  had 
been  hitherto  somewhat  unapproachable  by  the  men  at  the 
post,  averse  to  those  of  the  ruder  social  level  of  her  father's 
daughter,  and  suspicious  and  cold  to  those  above.  There 
fore  when  she  cast  upon  Captain  Howard  a  smile,  the  radi 
ance  of  which  might  have  thawed  out  all  Fort  Prince  George, 
he  was  mystified  and  expectant. 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  375 

Her  first  words,  however,  put  him  at  ease  as  he  sat  at  the 
table  in  the  orderly  room  with  an  ensign  opposite  and  two  or 
three  noncommissioned  officers  with  their  reports  standing 
at  attention. 

"  I  'm  fu'  glad  to  catchit  you  at  your  wark,  Captain,"  she 
said  with  her  most  dulcet  intonation,  swaying  the  half  open 
door,  and  looking  against  the  snowy  expanse  of  the  parade 
without  like  some  clear  fine  painting  on  a  pearly  surface. 
"  I  wad  like  ill  to  harry  ye  out  o'  your  hour  o'  ease,  wi' 
a'  thae  bodies/'  she  glanced  about  at  the  orderlies  and  the 
sentry  and  a  squad  of  men  outside,  "  to  weigh  sae  heavy  on 
your  mind." 

She  hesitated  as  she  stood  in  her  puce-colored  serge  skirt, 
from  which  the  snow  dripped,  a  heavy  red  rokelay  thrown 
around  her,  and  one  of  those  "  screens,"  half  shawl,  half 
veil,  worn  by  women  in  the  lowlands  as  well  as  the  high 
lands  of  Scotland,  brought  over  her  head  in  the  muffling 
manner  usual  in  wintry  weather.  Beneath  its  loosened 
folds  her  golden  hair,  her  pink  and  white  dimpled  face,  her 
glittering  teeth  and  red  lips,  showed  captivatingly,  and  Cap 
tain  Howard  must  have  been  something  more  than  military 
and  human  had  he  not  offered  her  a  chair. 

"  I  canna  sit,  for  I  hinna  a  moment,"  she  replied,  but 
she  came  toward  the  fire,  and  an  orderly,  mindful  of  the 
blast,  promptly  shut  the  door  as  she  relinquished  her  hold 
upon  it.  "I  wad  hae  sent  somebody,  but  thae  chiels  of  In 
juns  are  fair  crowding  out  the  packmen  at  the  trading-house, 
and  my  daddy  winna  spare  a  man  to  leave  there  till  the 
Muscogees  are  far  awa'  —  twal  mile  or  more." 

Her  eyes  twinkled  alluringly,  in  ridicule  of  auld  Jock's 
thrifty  bent,  and  Captain  Howard  smiled  responsively. 

"  Sae  fur  the  lack  of  a  better  messenger  I  maun  e'en  do 
my  ain  errand.  You  see,  Captain,"  —  she  leaned  against  the 
back  of  a  chair,  and  he  opposite,  having  taken  a  seat  with  the 
anticipation  of  her  acceptance  of  his  proffer,  gazed  at  her 


376  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

expectantly,  —  "the  soldiers  are  making  much  o'  Callum,  an' 
my  daddy  is  looking  after  the  Muscogees,  an'  I  was  minded 
to  consider  that  naebody  is  like  to  care  much  for  the  pris 
oner.  So  knowin'  you  hinna  too  much  beddin'  gear  at  the 
fort,  an'  the  weather  bein'  freakish  cauld,  I  thought  I  wad 
roll  up  a  blanket  or  twa  an'  some  furs  for  the  creatur's  bed." 

He  was  surprised  for  a  moment,  vaguely  suspicious,  doubt 
ful. 

"Just  for  a  loan,  ye  maun  understand/'  she  stipulated 
primly.  "When  the  weather  breaks  I  sail  look  to  hae  them 
a'  again." 

This  thrifty  afterthought  was  so  characteristic  of  Jock 
Lesly  and  his  household  that  the  officer's  mind  instantly 
cleared.  He  remembered  previous  instances  of  such  thought- 
fulness  on  her  part,  but  manifested  then  toward  the  hospital. 
Indeed  in  a  passing  illness  he  had  himself  been  the  pleased 
recipient  of  wine  whey,  arrowroot  gruel,  mulled  port,  choco 
late,  and  calves'  foot  jelly. 

He  hastened  to  express  his  appreciation  of  the  timeliness 
of  her  offering.  "The  usual  arrangements  are  somewhat 
scant  for  such  weather,  and  I  have  no  doubt  it  is  needed. 
The  guard-house  prison  has  no  fire,  and  it  must  be  pretty 
chilly  there,  though  there  is  a  great  chimney  in  the  next 
room." 

"  Will  ye  no  look  at  the  gear  ?  "  She  produced  from 
under  her  cloak  a  bundle  compactly  made  up,  from  the  edges 
of  which  otter  fur  showed. 

The  officer  politely  waived  the  precaution. 

"Not  at  all  necessary."  Then  somewhat  wearied  with 
these  details,  which  the  fairest  face  could  not  commend  for 
indefinite  contemplation,  —  at  least  to  one  having  attained 
forty-five  years,  —  "  Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  give  them 
to  the  orderly  ?  Kevins,  take  them  to  the  guard-house." 

But  Lilias,  turning  upon  the  advancing  soldier,  clasped 
her  bundle  in  a  closer  clutch.  "  I  'm  no  sae  clear  that 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  377 

the  prisoner-body  will  e'er  see  them  —  an'  sail  I  get  them 
a'  again  ?  Thae  bit  duds  are  unco  gude,"  she  added,  as  if 
loath  to  part  from  them. 

The  soldier  reddened  to  the  eyebrows  under  this  imputa 
tion,  and  the  officer,  disillusioned  of  his  admiration  by  this 
crafty,  untimely,  ignoble,  unfounded  suspiciousness,  sought 
to  rid  himself  of  the  whole  affair. 

"  Take  them  yourself  to  the  prisoner,  then,  and  count 
them  before  leaving  them,  so  that  you  may  be  sure  of  having 
them  all  returned.  Baker,  see  to  it  that  the  sentry  at  the 
guard-house  passes  her." 

As  she  went  out,  "  '  Aye  be  getting  and  aye  be  having,'  " 
he  quoted,  "  a  chip  of  the  old  block."  He  said  this  as  if 
to  himself,  but  aloud,  partly  to  assuage  the  lacerated  feelings 
of  the  man  whom  he  had  called  Nevins,  and  as  if  her  sus 
piciousness  were  not  a  personal  flout,  but  merely  appertained 
to  the  cautious  thrift  of  her  canny  Scotch  nature. 

The  guard  had  turned  out  upon  the  advance  from  the 
woods  of  a  considerable  body  of  Indians,  who,  however,  proved 
to  be  only  neighboring  tribesmen  without  organization,  but 
eager  and  curious  concerning  the  excitements  at  the  fort,  of 
which  they  had  heard  in  the  adjacent  Cherokee  town  of 
Keowee.  They  were  not  to  be  permitted  to  enter,  as  they 
evidently  desired,  but  their  pertinacity  to  this  end  detained 
the  officer  of  the  guard  for  a  few  minutes,  while  he  sought 
to  pacify  them  by  giving  them  authentic  details  on  those 
points  about  which  they  were  most  inquisitive.  Meantime 
the  guard,  lined  up,  stood  in  a  glittering  rank  of  scarlet  and 
steel  on  the  snowy  spaces  just  in  front  of  the  gate. 

The  guardroom  was  thus  empty  when  Lilias,  admitted 
by  the  sentry  at  the  outer  door  of  the  building,  made  her 
way  with  hasty,  disordered  steps  through  the  apartment.  She 
hesitated  at  the  inner  door  for  an  instant,  not  recognizing  the 
beating  of  her  own  heart,  which  at  first  she  mistook  for  some 
turbulent  alarum  outside,  drumming  the  whole  garrison  to 


378  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

arms.  The  next  moment  she  plunged  into  the  room,  and 
there  was  Tarn  Wilson  !  oh  puir  Tarn  Wilson !  so  pinched, 
so  blue,  so  cold,  sitting  in  this  frostbound  cell,  with  his 
head  upon  the  table,  and  his  face  in  his  hands,  —  all  his 
plans  congealed  in  this  hard  freeze  of  fate  and  dead  like 
other  transient  blooms  of  the  year  under  the  snow. 

As  he  looked  up  at  the  sound  of  her  step,  he  recognized 
her  upon  the  instant.  A  faint  wan  smile  quivered  in  his 
face.  He  was  about  to  speak,  but  she  laid  her  finger  warn- 
ingly  upon  her  lips.  Then  with  one  hasty  glance  at  the 
closed  door  behind  her,  she  tore  her  bundle  open  and  rushed 
at  him.  She  had  another  skirt  such  as  she  herself  wore  — 
of  brown  serge,  but  little  to  choose  between  the  shades 
—  and  slipped  it  over  his  head  in  one  moment.  Then  as  she 
vainly  sought  to  make  her  slender  waistband  meet  about  his 
middle,  although  he  too  was  slim,  she  commented  in  a  whis 
per,  "  My  certie  !  to  be  built  like  a  cask  !  I  '11  een  pin  it 
in  the  plaits,  but  it  will  no  hing  straight  in  the  hem !  " 
She  doffed  her  red  cloak  to  throw  it  about  him ;  her  screen 
was  on  his  head,  and  realizing  her  intention,  he  could  but 
kiss  her  hands  as  she  adjusted  it  under  his  chin,  muffling  his 
face  and  shoulders  as  she  had  herself  worn  it,  and  taking  the 
precaution  to  pin  it  here  and  there.  "  For  ye  '11  get  it  aff 
afore  ye  are  to  the  woods  if  I  dinna  baud  a  care ;  an'  once 
in  the  woods  by  the  river  ye  '11  find  under  that  big  crag  a 
canoe,  an'  below  the  seat  a  gude  store  of  food  an'  wine. 
An'  to  Charlestoun,  lad,  straight  down  the  Keowee  River 
and  the  Savannah  an'  out  to  sea !  Some  French  ship  will 
tak  ye  up,  I  mak  nae  doubt.  The  pursuit  will  set  the  other 
way  —  to  the  Cherokee  country." 

"  And  you  ?  " 

"  Never  fear  !  I  '11  bide  here  —  safe  —  amang  my  friends. 
Walk  like  me  if  ye  can ;  but  be  aff,  callant,  if  ye  luve  your 
life  !  " 

She  sank  into  his  chair;  and  mercurial  though  he  was, 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  379 

he  could  scarcely  take  up  the  role  with  the  spirit  with  which 
she  had  laid  it  down.  As  he  opened  the  door  into  the  guard 
room  he  saw  that  the  soldiers  had  not  yet  returned.  He 
barely  glanced  at  the  sentry  whom  he  passed  on  the  outer 
step ;  and  although  the  notice  of  the  soldier  was  but  the  cas 
ual  attention  of  recognition  and  expectation,  he  felt  the  man's 
look  as  if  it  had  been  red-hot  steel  laid  on  a  tender  nerve. 
He  walked  down  slowly  into  the  snow,  blessing  its  depth 
that  should  make  any  eccentricity  of  gait,  except  a  long 
stride,  seem  the  incident  of  its  impeding  medium.  In  meet 
ing  the  guard  halfway  returning  from  the  gate,  he  had  but 
to  mince  modestly  along,  not  lifting  his  eyes,  the  screen 
drawn  quite  over  his  face ;  and  since  Miss  Lilias  was  an  un 
commonly  tall  woman  and  the  Frenchman  of  but  medium 
height,  the  difference  was  not  immediately  apparent. 

A  sudden  swift  rush  behind  him  just  before  he  reached 
the  gate  —  that  great  envious  portal  that  barred  him  from 
all  his  world,  from  safety,  from  life  itself  —  and  he  felt  that 
he  must  drop  here  in  the  snow  and  die,  if  so  happy  a  fate 
as  a  death  thus  he  might  crave. 

He  had  not  had  time  to  cry  aloud  in  terror,  in  nervous 
stress,  in  absolute  despair,  when  the  pursuing  presence 
whizzed  past,  then  returning,  leaped  and  fawned  and  wheezed 
about  him  with  such  evident  blissful  recognition  that  if  Miss 
Lilias  Lesly  had  no  other  point  of  identification  to  the  eye  of 
the  sentry  it  would  have  been  supplied  in  the  jovial  manner 
of  her  companion,  the  faithful  old  collie.  The  soldier  pre 
sented  arms  as  her  semblance  passed,  to  which  extravagant 
compliment  the  figure  returned  a  bow  of  marked  courtesy, 
and  then  followed  over  the  snow  the  frantically  bounding 
collie,  that  was  fairly  frenzied  with  joy  to  see  and  recognize 
anew,  despite  his  feminine  frippery  of  attire,  his  friend  of 
auld  lang  syne,  Tarn  Wilson ;  for  the  instinct  of  the  collie 
was  not  so  limited  an  endowment  as  the  intelligence  of  the 
sentry  and  the  main  guard. 


XXI 

IN  her  after  life  Lilias  often  reviewed  her  sentiments  as 
she  sat  there  in  the  blue  cold,  with  that  curious  suggestion 
of  grit  in  the  air  common  to  a  low  temperature,  the  repul 
sion  to  the  dust  of  the  place  more  pronounced  and  apparent 
to  the  sensitive  finger-tips  than  if  it  were  summer.  She  had 
wrapped  herself  in  the  otter-fur  mantle  that  she  had  carried 
in  view  of  the  relinquishment  of  her  red  rokelay  to  the 
fugitive.  Presently  she  put  both  feet  on  the  rungs  of  the 
chair  and  crouched  forward  like  some  tiny  animal,  her  golden 
hair  barely  glimpsed  beneath  the  light  brown  tints  of  the 
fur.  Sometimes  she  put  her  blue  hands  to  her  mouth  to 
feel  how  chill  they  were,  and  blew  her  warm  breath  upon 
them;  then  again  she  clenched  the  trembling  fingers  and 
drew  her  mantle  closer.  How  cold  it  was  !  How  had  he  en 
dured  it !  It  might  be  colder  still  on  the  river,  but  he  was 
speeding  toward  freedom,  and  there  was  genial  warmth  in 
the  mere  suggestion.  How  cruel  men  were  to  each  other! 
And  he  was  but  obeying  the  behests  of  his  government,  as 
Captain  Howard  regarded  as  sacred  every  scrawl  that  reached 
him  from  headquarters. 

Now  and  again  the  sounds  from  the  guardroom  caught 
her  attention,  —  a  tramp  of  feet  with  a  measured  swinging 
gait,  a  snatch  of  song,  and  presently  a  droning  deep  voice 
going  on  and  on,  as  one  should  say  for  an  hour  or  more, 
with  but  little  interruption,  telling  a  long  story. 

How  cold  it  was  !  how  cold  !  She  wondered  how  long 
she  could  sustain  it.  The  longer  she  sat  here  in  her  wrap 
of  otter  fur  the  farther  he  would  be  on  his  way  down  the 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  381 

Keowee  Kiver.  If  only  she  could  know  that  he  had  made 
good  his  escape !  that  she  had  atoned  for  the  dreadful  evil 
she  had  wrought  in  revealing  his  secret !  Then  indeed  she 
would  be  happy !  In  liberating  him,  she  argued,  she  had 
promoted  no  massacre  of  women  and  children.  If  aught 
that  he  had  planned  threatened  them  it  was  frustrated,  for 
he  was  off  and  on  his  way  out  of  the  country,  and  she  had 
aided  his  flight,  nay,  made  it  possible.  If  only  she  could 
know  that  he  had  won  the  river  bank  and  found  the  canoe  ! 
Down  and  down  the  Savannah  he  would  paddle  the  canoe, 
and  a  man  in  buckskins,  the  usual  garb  of  the  country,  —  for 
he  would  soon  doff  the  woman's  habiliments,  —  would  at 
tract  no  attention  from  casual  observers  on  the  banks  ;  and 
some  night  —  some  dark  night  soon  —  he  would  float  out  of 
Charlestown  harbor,  and  finally  be  picked  up  by  some  French 
man-of-war  or  merchantman,  so  many  there  were  then  in 
the  southern  waters.  The  pursuit  would  undoubtedly  take 
head  in  the  opposite  direction.  Few  would  imagine  it  safer 
to  flee  directly  toward  the  enemy's  stronghold  rather  than 
from  it.  They  would  follow  him  back  into  the  Indian  coun 
try,  where  he  had  friends,  influence,  the  French  prestige  — 
a  thousand  reasons  to  command  succor  and  concealment. 
But  to  Charlestown  —  into  the  lion's  mouth  ?  In  this  in- 
stance  the  lion  slept  with  his  mouth  open.  Somehow  she 
was  sure  no  one  would  think  of  this  resource  but  herself. 
She  would  give  him  all  the  time  she  could,  a  good  start 
ahead  of  all  possible  pursuit.  Six  hours  it  might  be,  if  she 
could  so  long  endure  the  cruel  cold,  before  the  noise  of  his 
escape  should  be  bruited  abroad.  The  noonday  meal  was 
just  concluded.  The  British  soldier  was  presumed  to  eat  no 
supper ;  at  least,  only  two  meals  were  furnished  him,  ex 
cept  on  the  frontier,  where  to  content  him  the  better,  per 
haps,  on  the  theory  that  the  road  to  his  heart  lay  through 
his  stomach,  a  third  was  served.  This  came  a  little  before 
the  hour  of  retreat.  She  wondered  if  the  prisoners  shared 


382  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

in  this  extra  refection.  She  had  an  idea  that  then  at  all 
events  she  must  needs  call  in  the  guard  j  she  would  be 
able  to  endure  it  no  longer. 

As  she  sat  crouching  and  still  in  the  only  chair  of  the 
bleak  and  bare  apartment,  her  attention  was  attracted  by  a 
crystalline  tinkle  against  the  glass  of  the  window.  She 
thought  it  must  be  snowing  afresh.  Presently  she  rose, 
stood  upon  the  chair,  for  the  window  was  exceedingly  high, 
to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  any  enterprising  prisoner,  and  then 
she  stepped  noiselessly  upon  the  table.  Looking  upward 
through  the  grimy  glass  she  could  see  the  whirl  of  dizzy 
flakes  against  the  sky.  A  tumultuous  storm  it  was.  A 
man  fleeing  through  it  would  be  invisible.  It  would  ren 
der  pursuit  impracticable,  so  long  as  it  should  continue. 
Her  heart  gave  a  great  throb  of  triumph.  The  afternoon 
was  wearing  on.  The  light  was  dulling  fast,  and  unless  a 
barricade  of  ice  should  impede  the  flow  of  the  river  these 
few  hours'  start  would  mean  freedom  to  a  man  fleeing  for 
his  life ! 

Keassured,  invigorated,  she  stepped  slowly,  softly  down 
from  the  table  to  the  chair,  and  then  from  the  chair  to 
the  floor.  She  seated  herself  anew  in  silence,  in  loneliness, 
muffled  to  her  eyebrows  in  her  otter  furs,  and  listening  to 
the  gay  snatches  of  song  about  the  great  flaring  hearth  in 
the  guardroom. 

And  it  was  cold,  it  was  very  cold ! 

During  the  afternoon  Jock  Lesly  decided  to  tramp  over 
to  the  fort.  He  had  a  desire  to  compare  views  with  Cap 
tain  Howard  and  expatiate  on  the  incident  of  the  capture, 
so  full  of  import  to  them  both,  —  to  the  soldier  as  repre 
senting  the  military  element,  and  the  trader  the  mercantile 
interests  of  the  post.  He  had  scarcely  stretched  out  his 
smoking  boots  to  the  fire,  seated  in  the  officer's  comfortable 
quarters,  than  Captain  Howard  introduced  the  subject  of  the 
weather  in  reference  to  the  prisoner,  intending  to  thank  the 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  383 

trader  for  the  consideration  he  had  manifested  in  sending 
blankets  to  the  fort,  in  view  of  the  arctic  temperature. 

"  We  ought  to  consider  our  obligations  to  the  helpless," 
said  the  officer,  "  but,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned,  Gad,  sir,  I  'm 
kept  so  short  for  funds  that  it  is  often  like  letting  a  faithful 
soldier  and  servant  of  the  king  go  cold  in  order  to  house  and 
blanket  and  warm  some  miscreant  enemy  to  the  whole  com 
munity." 

"  Ou,  aye,  weel,"  said  auld  Jock,  a  trifle  out  of  counte 
nance,  "  I  'm  obleeged  for  your  sarmon,  sir.  D'  ye  mean  ye 
think  I  ought  to  blanket  an'  mainteen  the  king's  prisoners 
at  bed  an'  board  ?  " 

"  No,  oh  no,"  exclaimed  the  officer.  "  I  only  meant  to 
thank  you  for  the  blankets  and  furs  and  so  on  that  your 
daughter  brought  over  to-day,  kindly  bethinking  herself  of 
the  likelihood  that  the  prisoner  would  be  neglected.  In 
truth  we  have  been  surprisingly  short,  and  if  the  soldiers 
were  not  young  and  strong  and  had  not  a  good  deal  of  red 
blood  in  their  veins,  I  should  expect  to  hear  that  some  of 
them  had  frozen  stiff." 

"Wow,  man,  to  be  plain,  I  never  heard  o'  thae  blan 
kets  afore  ! "  Jock  Lesly  confessed.  "  The  lassie  helpit  her 
nainsel',  as  she  has  a  perfect  right  to  do,  and  I  sail  ne'er 
say  her  nay.  All  my  gear  an'  hoardings  will  be  hers  ane 
day.  An'  I  doubt  not  she  '11  find  some  feckless  ne  'er-do- 
weel  of  a  husband  ter  fling  it  a'  awa'.  But  it 's  hers,  it 's  a' 
hers.  I  wark  for  nane  else,  but,"  with  an  anxious  pause 
and  a  keen  glance,  "  did  ye  notice  whether  it  was  the  lamb's 
wool  or  the  yowe's  wool  blankets  that  the  bairn  had  ?  " 

"  I  did  not  see  them  at  all,"  said  the  officer  hastily.  "  I 
only  assured  her  that  she  should  have  them  all  back  safe, 
and  bade  her  distribute  them  to  her  own  satisfaction." 

Jock  Lesly  rose  to  his  feet.  This  was  a  topic  on  which 
he  could  not  rest  in  uncertainty.  She  might  give  away  the 
blankets  as  she  would,  but  his  curiosity  as  to  which  quality 


384  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

she  had  seen  fit  to  take  actually  burned  him.  He  presently 
went  tramping  across  the  parade,  and  Captain  Howard,  look 
ing  after  him  smilingly,  little  dreamed  of  the  errand  that 
was  to  bring  him  back  again. 

The  dull  dreary  evening,  with  the  snow  still  dizzily  whirl 
ing,  was  closing  in.  Indeed  but  for  the  ghastly  illumination 
of  the  reflection  from  the  snow  on  the  ground,  it  would  now 
be  dark.  The  peaked  roof  of  the  trading-house  looming  up 
among  the  flakes  before  Jock  Lesly  knew  that  he  was  near 
it,  so  stanchly  he  strode  through  the  deep  drifts,  was  of 
a  benignant  aspect  to  his  mind,  and  he  loved  it.  As  he 
sounded  a  whistle,  that  Duncan  or  Dougal  or  whatever 
henchman  awaited  his  coming  should  perceive  his  arrival 
and  admit  him  to  the  domestic  fortress,  he  noticed  how  the 
smoke  was  flaring  up  from  that  flue  of  the  chimney  devoted 
to  the  hearth  so  craftily  hidden  below.  His  heart  warmed 
at  the  thought  of  his  ingleside  in  his  subterranean  home. 

"  I  hinna  seen  my  bairn  a'  the  day  but  by  a  wee  gliff 
here  awa'  an'  there  awa'.  If  the  lassie  were  in  Charlestoun 
now  I  couldna  believe  it,"  he  said  to  himself  as  he  heard 
the  clatter  of  the  bars  falling  within.  "  I  '11  mak  her  sing 
some  o'  thae  auld  sangs  the  nicht,  when  her  voice  sounds 
sae  like  her  mither's,  an'  then  me  an'  the  gillie-packmen  an7 
Luckie  Meg  will  a'  sing  the  chorus  an'  drink  some  flip. 
An'  it  can  snaw  an'  sleet,  an'  the  wind  can  blaw  an'  bleat, 
an'  awa'  doun  there  by  the  red  ingle-neuk  we'se  never  ken 
it  at  a'." 

Nevertheless  when  he  was  inside  and  the  door  secured 
anew,  he  said  to  the  under-trader,  who  stood  swinging  the 
lantern,  "  Dougal,  whilk  o'  thae  bales  o'  blankets  did  Miss 
Lilias  open  the  morn,  —  the  lamb's  wool  or  the  yowe's 
wool  ?  An'  how  mony  did  she  send  to  the  fort  ?  " 

Dougal  Micklin  opened  his  eyes  wide.  "Neither  the 
ane  nor  the  t'  other!"  he  exclaimed  jealously.  "An' 
what  for  suld  she  send  blankets  to  the  fort  ?  " 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  385 

But  Jock  Lesly  would  not  believe  this.  Had  he  not  the 
word  of  the  recipient  of  her  bounty,  that  is  the  command 
ant  of  the  fort,  —  and  he  truly  thought  that  Howard  must 
have  suggested  it !  —  that  she  had  given  him  the  trader's 
blankets  to  wrap  up  his  prisoner  ? 

"  For  whether  it 's  the  lamb's  wool  or  the  yowe's  wool, 
they  are  baith  verra  gude,  and  ower  gude  to  be  given  awa> 
gratis,"  Jock  Lesly  argued.  "  For  sic-like  emergencies  we 
brought  them  out  frae  Carolina,  not  for  the  summer  time  ! 
We  forecast  that  cauld  weather  might  catch  thae  carles  at 
the  fort  without  kiver,  and  Captain  Howard  might  buy  them, 
not  beg  them.  He  is  the  commandant  of  his  majesty's  fort, 
not  a  gaberlunzie  man  !  It 's  his  bounden  duty,  even  suld 
it  cost  him  a  wee  penny  o'  thae  short  funds  he  bleats  about, 
to  protect  his  captives  frae  suffering  frae  the  inclement 
weather  as  a  humane  man,  and  as  a  commandant  it 's  in  the 
reg'lar  way  o'  business.  I  never  heard  o'  sic  a  request  on- 
less  it  was  made  o'  Providence.  We  'se  a'  ask  Providence 
for  anything,  —  even  to  forgie  us  our  debts  that  we  made 
oursel's,  —  an'  I'll  be  bound  Captain  Howard  wad  say, 
'  Forgie  us  our  debts,  an'  interest  on  same  !  ' ; 

He  began  to  laugh  satirically,  then  became  suddenly  si 
lent,  for  as  the  lantern  swung  before  a  row  of  shelves,  the 
light  revealed  the  blankets  in  question,  duly  baled,  with  not 
a  cord  cut  nor  a  fold  shaken  out. 

He  did  not  wait  for  the  under-trader  to  complete  a  lauda 
tory  account  of  them,  upon  which  Dougal  had  launched  out 
as  if  he  sought  to  sell  them  to  auld  Jock  himself,  but  which 
was  purely  mechanical,  declaring  that  they  were  of  a  fine 
quality  and  a  heavy  weight  and  could  not  be  had  cheaper 
in  Charlestown,  notwithstanding  the  great  expense  of  car 
riage  to  the  trader  ;  that  they  were  no  designed  for  the  In 
dian  trade  but  for  such  gentles  as  might  — 

"Be  at  the  fort  an'  afeard  o'  freezin',"  interrupted  Jock 
Lesly  sardonically.  "  But  thae  gentles  would  rather  warm 


386  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

their  taes  at  a  guinea  than  in  a  blanket  that  they  have  to 
pay  for,  man  !  '  Forgie  us  interest  on  same  ! '  "  And  down 
Jock  Lesly  went  upon  the  rungs  of  his  ladder  and  into  his 
ain  ha7  house. 

Very  cheerful  it  looked.  The  supper  was  already  on  the 
board,  the  hearth  swept,  and  the  fire  flaring.  The  little 
flax-wheel  at  which  Lilias  sat  so  often  at  night  was  at  one 
side,  silent  and  motionless,  and  great  buffalo-skins  lay  be 
fore  the  hearth.  No  lamp  glowed  from  the  little  chamber 
beyond,  and  Jock  Lesly  stopped  short  at  the  sight  of  the 
black  darkness  within. 

"  Where  is  Miss  Lilias,  Luckie  ?  "  he  asked  of  old  Meg, 
busied  in  brewing  the  tea. 

"I  dinna  ken/7  she  replied  casually;  then  looking  up, 
she  added,  "  In  the  tradin'-house  maist  likely.  She  has 
been  flittin'  in  an'  out  a'  the  day,  except  for  the  last  twa 
hours  or  sae." 

"  There  is  not  a  soul  in  the  trading-house  ! "  cried  Jock 
Lesly,  with  a  sudden  cold  clutch  at  his  heart. 

Snatching  a  candle  from  the  table  he  quickly  searched 
her  little  chamber,  the  passage,  the  anteroom,  all  in  vain ! 
It  was  but  a  small  place  after  all,  this  ha'  house,  and  easily 
traversed. 

Then  he  called  her,  his  great  rich  resonant  voice  sound 
ing  from  ceiling  to  floor,  from  wall  to  wall,  evoking  a  train 
of  echoes,  and  alack  with  so  grievous  a  tremor  in  it  that  in 
listening  the  tears  could  but  start.  The  gillies,  the  under- 
trader  had  scoured  every  nook  and  cranny  in  the  trading- 
house  and  found  naught.  They  looked  at  each  other  with 
white  scared  faces,  each  repeating  in  astonishment  at  inter 
vals,  as  if  they  could  not  credit  the  marvel,  "  She  isna  here  ! 
She  isna  here  !  " 

Jock  Lesly,  with  an  awful  sense  of  responsibility, 
thought  of  his  wife,  dead  so  long  ago,  —  had  he  thus  dis 
charged  the  sacred  trust  of  the  care  of  their  only  child ! 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  387 

There  was  not  a  moment  to  be  lost,  although  perhaps 
hours  had  already  been  wasted.  Jock  Lesly's  stanch  cour 
age  rallied  to  meet  the  emergency.  All  his  life  hereafter  he 
might  expend  in  grief,  but  the  present  belonged  to  Lilias, 
and  every  force  it  could  compass  should  be  consecrated  to 
her  service.  He  plunged  through  the  whirl  of  snow,  still 
falling  in  the  dense  darkness ;  the  tears  that  had  poured  un 
restrained,  unheeded,  shed  unconsciously  down  his  white 
cheeks,  froze  upon  them,  and  tiny  icicles  trembled  upon  his 
eyelashes.  But  he  did  not  sob ;  his  breath  held  steady  ;  his 
teeth  were  set,  his  every  nerve  was  tense,  controlling  his 
great  physical  strength  that  it  might  better  seize  any  oppor 
tunity  of  her  rescue.  The  under-trader  distinctly  remem 
bered  having  seen  her  early  in  the  afternoon  returning  from 
the  fort  and  walking  with  her  collie  toward  the  river.  The 
collie  had  since  reached  home,  and  with  this  testimony  that 
she  was  no  longer  in  the  securities  of  Fort  Prince  George  they 
gathered  the  little  group  of  packmen  about  them  in  a  close 
squad,  and  looking  grimly  to  the  priming  of  their  pistols 
they  forcibly  searched  the  Muscogee  camp  just  outside  the 
works,  thinking  those  troublous  half-drunken  wights  might 
have  intercepted  her  as  she  came  from  the  fort  with  the  in 
tention  of  holding  her  for  ransom  when  the  terror  at  her 
disappearance  should  be  at  the  maximum. 

Although  taken  by  surprise  and  obviously  astounded  by 
the  accusation,  the  Muscogees  could  furnish  no  information, 
and  their  camp  betrayed  not  a  trace  of  her  presence.  This 
hope  dashed,  the  party  followed  successively  every  glim 
mering  ignis  fatuus  of  a  possibility  that  each  could  sug 
gest  ;  one  remembered  that  a  settler's  wife  had  a  child 
named  in  compliment  "  Lilias,"  and  as  it  was  suddenly 
ill  and  near  to  death,  she  might  have  visited  it ;  another  re 
counted  the  fact  that  an  old  Indian  woman  near  Keowee 
fascinated  her  with  antiquated  fables,  which  she  valued  and 
loved  to  hear ;  another,  upheld  by  superstition,  insisted  on 


388  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

repairing  to  Keowee  to  consult  the  cheerataghe  and  have 
them  work  a  spell  to  reveal  her  whereabouts  ;  and  while  this 
was  in  progress  Jock  Lesly  required  the  headmen  to  search 
the  town  and  the  adjacent  series  of  Cherokee  habitations, 
once  almost  consecutive,  from  Kulsage  (Sugar  Town),  about 
a  mile  above  and  even  at  that  time  extending  far  down  the 
valley,  toward  the  site  of  Sinica,  burned  by  the  British  during 
the  Cherokee  War.  Hours  passed  in  these  fruitless  efforts, 
and  at  last,  when  each  lure  had  finally  flickered  out  in  the 
darkness  of  despair,  Jock  Lesly  turned  again  as  a  final  hope 
to  the  fort.  He  would  consult  the  last  man  who  saw  her 
there,  the  sentry  at  the  gate,  for  perchance  she  might  have 
expressed  to  him  some  inkling  of  her  intention  to  go  else 
where  than  home.  The  gillies  all  eager,  zealous,  plunging 
through  the  drifts  followed  him;  now  and  again  they  fell 
over  the  submerged  stumps  of  the  clearing  and  wandered 
out  of  their  course  and  far  afield,  but  Jock  Lesly  as  if  by 
instinct  avoided  every  impediment,  and  albeit  the  whirl  of 
flakes  obscured  all  intimation  of  that  blended  glimmer  and 
hazy  aureola  that  were  wont  to  mark  the  site  of  the  fort 
by  night,  he  reached  the  gate  as  unerringly  as  if  the  bas 
tions,  the  barracks,  the  flag  on  the  tower  of  the  block-house 
were  flaunting  in  the  bold  light  of  day. 

None  was  so  swift  as  he  of  all  the  light  young  fellows, 
but  a  moment  after  the  sentry's  challenge  rang  upon  the 
chill  night  air  he  heard  the  ice  of  the  broad  moat  crack 
with  a  great  splash,  as  Duncan,  mistaking  the  direction  of 
the  gate,  fell  into  the  frozen  water  of  the  ditch,  and  much 
splutter  and  torrid  exclamations  as  he  scrambled  out.  The 
noise  attracted  the  attention  of  the  sentinel  in  the  tower  of 
the  block-house,  and  the  sharp  report  of  his  musket,  as  he 
fired  a  warning  into  the  air,  brought  out  the  main-guard 
before  the  corporal  could  reach  the  sentry  at  the  gate. 

In  another  moment  there  was  a  great  commotion  upon 
the  parade,  erstwhile  so  dark  and  silent.  A  shifting  of 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  389 

lanterns  here  and  there  threw  long  cone-shaped  shafts  of 
light  down  the  snowy  expanse,  illuminating  in  limited  sec 
tions  a  log  building  near  at  hand,  with  its  drift-laden  eaves 
and  window-sills,  and  all  the  atmosphere  a  silent,  palpita 
ting  mysterious  motion  as  the  flakes  still  whirled.  The 
glitter  of  the  scarlet  and  steel  of  the  armed  guard,  its  ex 
pectant  aggressive  mien,  its  quick  tramp  and  alert  bearing 
might  seem  to  offer  a  sort  of  reassurance  with  its  note  of 
ready  confidence.  And  indeed  Jock  Lesly's  hope  revived, 
albeit  the  jaunty  military  manner  of  the  young  officer  of  the 
day  was  at  variance  with  his  anxious  intent  troubled  face, 
revealed  by  the  lantern  held  aloft  that  he  might  descry  his 
visitor's  care-worn  white  lineaments. 

"  Help  you  to  find  a  trace  ?  See  the  last  man  who  saw 
her  ?  That  must  be  the  sentry  at  the  gate  —  and  the  next, 
the  prisoner  himself." 

As  to  learn  from  the  officer  of  the  guard  the  name  of  the 
sentinel  who  had  been  posted  at  the  gate  at  that  hour  and 
since  relieved  was  a  work  of  more  or  less  time,  the  interval 
could  obviously  be  employed  in  interrogating  the  prisoner 
himself  as  to  the  possible  intimations  of  her  immediate  in 
tentions  that  Lilias  might  have  expressed  when  she  quitted 
his  cell.  The  permission  of  the  commandant  would  be  ne 
cessary,  —  but  here  suddenly  was  the  commandant  himself, 
roused  from  sleep  by  the  stir,  and  with  his  voice  kind  and 
reassuring. 

"  Never  fear,  dear  fellow,"  he  said,  passing  his  arm  fra 
ternally  through  the  quaking  Lesly's,  "  we  '11  find  her  if 
we  have  to  search  the  Indian  country  inch  by  inch.  They  '11 
never  dare  to  harm  her,  for  they  will  hold  her  for  ran 
som.  I  can  feel  for  you,  for  have  I  not  two  daughters  of 
my  own  ?  " 

But  as  they  strode  together  through  the  guardroom,  with 
its  flaring  fire  and  its  tramping,  thronging,  military  inmates, 
and  opened  the  inner  door  to  the  dark  and  chill  military 


390  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

prison  beyond,  Captain  Howard's  sentiments  fell  far  the 
other  side  of  friendly,  for  there,  her  golden  head  pillowed 
on  the  hard  table,  her  mantle  of  otter  fur  drawn  close  about 
her  ears,  her  feet  perched  upon  the  rung  of  the  chair,  sat  fast 
asleep  the  trader's  daughter,  while  the  great  flakes  of  snow 
jingled  crystalline  and  keen  against  the  glass  of  the  window, 
and  the  dark  hours  merged  deep  into  the  mid-glooms  of  the 
night. 

And  Captain  Howard's  valuable  prisoner  was  gone  !  His 
prisoner — whom  valiant  men  had  risked  their  lives  to  secure. 
His  prisoner  —  whom  hundreds  of  miles  of  cruel  forced 
marches,  privations  incredible,  and  dangers  unnumbered  had 
brought  at  last  to  his  door.  His  prisoner  —  whom  other  com 
manders  had  tried  in  vain  to  take,  for  whose  capture  many 
other  plans  of  specious  wiles  had  failed  and  fallen  short. 
His  prisoner  —  on  whose  triumphant  delivery  to  the  military 
and  civil  authorities  in  Charlestown  his  majority  depended. 
This  prisoner  —  gone,  gone!  And  in  his  stead,  in  his  secure 
cell  with  not  a  bar  broken,  not  a  sentry  bribed,  no  vigilance 
relaxed,  was  a  girl,  just  awakened,  half  frozen,  all  bewildered 
and  beginning  to  cry. 

Jock  Lesly  caught  the  officer's  first  outburst  of  dismay 
and  surprise  and  rage  as  a  man  might  a  blow,  putting  up 
his  arm  to  guard  his  face. 

"Hegh,  Captain,"  he  said,  his  hand  clasping  the  girl's  as 
she  cowered  and  blinked  before  the  light  that  coldly  fell 
upon  the  bare  walls,  the  high  window,  the  dusty  floor,  all 
infinitely  bleak  and  gloomy.  "I'se  gae  nae  furder  in  a' 
this  gear !  Let  but  the  bairn  get  to  the  fire !  I  confess ! 
I  'm  bound  to  confess !  My  heart  can  haud  sic  a  care  o' 
deceit  nae  langer!  'Twas  me  that  planned  to  liberate  the 
callant!  I  sent  the  lassie  here  to  win  ye  by  a  trick  an'  to 
turn  him  loose  drest  in  sic  gear  as  hers  an'  to  tak  his  place. 
'Twas  me,  Captain,  an'  I  surrender!" 

Great  as  were  the  variant  urgencies  of  the  situation,  the 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  391 

cold  coerced  the  group  mechanically  toward  the  fire  in  the 
guardroom,  and  they  stood  on  the  broad  hearth,  the  sol 
diers  withdrawing  a  few  paces  to  give  them  space.  The 
glittering  muskets  had  been  all  stacked  anew ;  the  open  door 
showed  a  broad  lane  of  light  gleaming  down  the  snowy 
parade  outside,  the  flakes  still  madly  whirling.  Captain 
Howard  in  his  hastily  assumed  military  uniform,  with  his 
ungartered  hose  wrinkled  and  loose,  and  evidently  uncon 
scious  that  he  still  wore  a  red  flannel  nightcap  with  a  queer 
tassel,  had  a  touch  of  the  grotesque,  in  contrast  with  the 
dapper  perfection  of  the  ensign's  regimentals  with  his  up-all- 
night  expectation  as  officer  of  the  day.  All  looked  in  dis 
may,  in  growing  anger,  in  gathering  doubt  at  Jock  Lesly. 

The  trader  stanchly  returned  their  gaze.  The  shoulders 
of  his  great  match-coat  were  covered  with  snow,  which  was 
beginning  to  drip  as  it  thawed  with  the  heat  of  the  fire,  and 
he  held  pressed  close  to  his  side  his  golden-haired  daughter. 
She  was  fully  awake  now,  and  looking  out  with  alert,  wide- 
eyed  expectation  from  her  mantle  of  otter  fur  drawn  par 
tially  over  her  head. 

"  Jock  Lesly,"  cried  the  captain,  "  you  are  lying  !  Why 
should  you,  always  a  loyal  subject,  with  the  interest  of  your 
trade  dependent  upon  the  preservation  of  the  peace  with  the 
Cherokees,  set  free  this  turbulent  Laroche,  this  stirrer-up 
of  strife  along  the  frontier  ?  " 

"  Ou,  —  ay,"  said  Jock  Lesly,  holding  up  his  chin  and 
gazing  about  him  speculatively  as  if  he  looked  for  his  inspira 
tion  in  the  air,  "  a'  that  is  verra  true ;  but  this  lad  hae  eat 
o'  my  salt  up  in  the  Tennessee  country,  an'  "  — 

"  You  are  lying  !  "  cried  the  officer  angrily,  "  and  if  you 
were  not,  it  would  be  as  much  as  my  life  is  worth  to  tell 
you  so,  even  with  my  guard  around  me  !  You  know,  and  I 
know,  that  the  child  did  it  of  her  own  accord,  —  and  for 
what,  missy  ?  Why  did  you  liberate  the  man  ?  " 

"  Ye  '11  no  ask  the  bairn  questions,  Captain  Howard !  " 


392  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWEB 

interposed  Jock  Lesly  angrily.  "  I  stand  here  ready  to  tak 
the  responsibility  an'  answer  for  the  deed  !  The  lassie  is  no 
accountable  for  what  she  says  !  She 's  cauld,  half  starved  ! 
I  surrender  !  I  surrender !  It 's  no  the  lassie's  will  that 
brought  her  here  !  I  sent  her  !  'T  was  me,  her  cruel  father  ! 
She  is  cauld  !  I  surrender !  I "  — 

"I  let  the  prisoner  out !  "  said  Lilias  suddenly,  and  her 
voice  rang  in  that  grim  guardroom  like  some  sweet  string  of 
a  harp,  keyed  so  high  above  any  vibrations  to  which  it  was 
accustomed,  yet  rich  and  resonant  with  its  fullness  of  tone. 
"  I  let  him  out  because  he  was  betrayed  by  my  word.  I  tauld 
Callum  Macllvesty  that  he  was  French,  for  he  had  avowed 
it  to  me ;  but  I  was  thinkin'  then  't  was  known  to  a'  the 
warld,  an'  sae  Callum  Macllvesty  tauld  you,  Captain  Howard, 
that  he  was  no  Tarn  Wilson,  as  Lieutenant  Everard  took 
him  to  be,  but  French,  and  ye  sent  to  tak  him.  An'  now 
since  I  hae  nae  treachery  to  answer  for,  —  for  J'm  no  keeper 
o'  the  guardhouse  here,  —  I  '11  gae  to  gaol  or  where  ye  will 
wi'  a  free  heart.  I  care  na  for  naught ! " 

She  turned  her  face  and  golden  head  against  her  father's 
great  snowy  coat  as  he  once  more  futilely  ejaculated,  "  The 
bairn 's  cauld  !  it 's  gey  cauld  weather  !  and  she  disna  ken 
what  she  is  sayin' !  " 

But  Captain  Howard,  after  an  eager  consultation  aside 
with  several  officers  of  the  garrison,  summoned  by  the  un 
usual  commotion,  and  a  survey  of  the  conditions  of  the  raging 
storm,  returned  to  the  questioning  of  Lilias. 

"  And  at  what  time  did  this  happen,  mistress  ?  What 
hour  was  it  when  you  saw  fit  to  turn  the  king's  prisoner 
loose  upon  the  country  ?  " 

"  Five  minutes  scant  after  you  gave  me  leave  to  speak  wi' 
the  callant ;  an'  after  he  was  gone  I  stude  the  cauld  as  lang 
as  I  could,  thinking  to  gie  him  a  fair  start,  an'  then  I  drapped 
aff  in  a  wee  bit  nap.  It 's  ower  cauld  comfort  ye  gie  to  your 
puir  prisoners,  Captain  Howard." 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

u  And  what  direction  did  he  take  ?  "  the  officer  asked 
eagerly. 

"  Ah-h  !  "  she  cried,  her  red  lips  showing  her  white  teeth, 
her  nodding  head  setting  her  golden  hair  to  glimmering  be 
neath  the  brown  otter  fur,  her  eyes  shining  with  triumph, 
"  it  ?s  him  that  didna  say !  He  is  the  sodger-man  to  keep 
his  plans  in  the  sole  o'  his  boot." 

Her  father  pressed  her  head  smotheringly  against  the 
folds  of  his  great  coat.  "  Whist,  hinny,  whist ! "  he  ex 
claimed  vacuously ;  "  I  surrender,  Captain !  I  surrender !  The 
bairn  's  but  a  bairn  when  a?  is  said  !  She  kens  na  what  she 
is  sayin'  ;  an'  I  mak  nae  doubt,  too,  she  is  tellin'  lees." 

"  I  make  no  doubt  that  you  are  telling  lies !  "  said  the 
captain  in  despair. 

For  with  full  ten  hours'  start,  the  escaped  prisoner,  him 
self  a  military  man  of  much  experience,  of  tried  courage, 
of  crafty  resource,  and  moreover  singularly  well  acquainted 
with  the  conditions  of  the  country,  could  set  at  defiance  any 
pursuer  who  should  enter  upon  the  chase  in  darkness,  in 
intense  cold,  in  a  furious  snowstorm,  and  in  absolute  igno 
rance  of  the  direction  which  the  fugitive  had  taken.  The 
passage  of  the  night  with  the  late  wintry  dawn  would  add 
some  seven  hours  to  the  fair  start  she  had  contrived  for  him. 
The  commandant  was  nettled  by  the  consciousness  that  this 
advantage  might  have  been  somewhat  abridged  by  a  trifle 
more  precaution ;  for  although  no  supper  was  served  the 
prisoner,  he  being  expected  to  reserve  such  portion  as  he 
desired  from  his  dinner  for  that  purpose,  as  was  the  habit, 
for  which  an  allowance  was  duly  made,  the  cell  had  been 
visited  by  the  officer  of  the  day  when  making  his  rounds. 
The  girl  was  still  soundly  sleeping,  and  doubtless  did  not 
hear  the  opening  of  the  door  as  the  officer  of  the  day  un 
locked  it  and  glanced  in.  It  was  already  dark,  and  by  the 
faint  glimmerings  of  the  lantern  held  outside  for  him  by 
the  corporal  accompanying  him  upon  his  rounds,  he  saw 


394  A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER 

the  bare  walls  and  floor,  and  in  the  single  chair  a  muffled 
figure  leaning  upon  the  table,  presumably  asleep  or  plunged 
in  deep  dejection,  the  head  bowed  upon  the  arms.  It  never 
occurred  to  him  that  this  shadowy  presence  in  the  bleak 
gloom  could  be  other  than  the  exhausted  and  travel-worn 
prisoner,  whom  he  did  not  wish  to  rouse  unnecessarily. 
The  officer's  duties  were  many  and  pressing  at  this  hour  and 
called  him  elsewhere.  Therefore,  closing  the  door  and  turn 
ing  the  key,  he  thought  no  more  of  the  captive  till  he  saw 
the  golden  head  of  the  changeling  when  the  mystery  was 
revealed. 

Captain  Howard,  who  had  given  the  girl  access  to  the 
cell,  could  ill  accuse  the  subaltern  of  neglect  of  duty,  and 
the  commandant  himself  could  hardly  have  been  expected 
to  guard  against  masterly  strategy  in  the  quarter  whence  it 
had  emanated. 

Messengers  were  presently  ready  to  start  out  with  the  first 
intimation  of  a  lull  in  the  storm  or  the  peep  of  day  to  warn 
all  the  Cherokee  towns  of  reprisal  should  they  dare  to 
harbor  the  fugitive,  for  that  Laroche  would  return  to  the 
friendly  Cherokee  strongholds  hardly  admitted  of  a  doubt 
in  the  mind  of  Captain  Howard.  He  had  not  sufficient 
troops  at  command  to  awe  the  Indians  into  surrendering 
the  fugitive,  but  he  hoped  that  the  passive  force  of  the 
treaty  and  its  advantages,  otherwise  annulled,  might  avail. 

Captain  Howard  was  a  man  of  magnanimity.  Even  with 
the  cup  of  well-earned  success  dashed  from  his  lips  he  had 
the  good  feeling  to  pity  the  father,  —  his  own  daughters 
were  far  away  in  England,  —  as  Jock  Lesly  continually 
ejaculated,  "/  surrender,  Captain !  The  wean  '&  no  respon 
sible  !  I  surrender  !  " 

"  Jock,"  he  said,  "  you  need  not  forswear  yourself.  We 
all  know  that  you  would  not  have  jeopardized  the  fair  inter 
ests  of  the  Indian  trade  for  all  the  Johnny  Crapauds  who 
ever  passed  the  tongue  of  a  buckle  through  a  sword-belt,  — 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  395 

not  even  if  instead  of  your  salt  he  had  eaten  your  whole 
station  !  Miss  Lilias  Lesly  here,  for  reasons  seeming  to  her 
self  good  and  fitting  "  —  he  cast  upon  her  an  acrid  glance  — 
"  set  the  man  free,  —  for  which  she  is  under  arrest,  and  "  — 
intercepting  a  wild  bleat  of  paternal  protest  —  "  will  remain 
so  in  your  ain  ha'  house  under  your  watch  and  ward ;  and 
we  have  no  doubt  she  will  be  produced  when  summoned, 
and  you  will  give  your  faithful  recognizance  to  that  effect.'7 

He  was  reflecting  that  it  would  answer  every  purpose 
to  detain  the  girl  thus,  for  while  her  punishment  might 
result  should  the  matter  continue  of  importance,  it  would 
otherwise  hardly  be  contemplated  by  the  colonial  authori 
ties  in  view  of  the  unpopularity  of  such  a  step. 

Jock  Lesly  was  in  such  haste  to  sign  and  seal  a  paper 
betokening  this  clemency  that  he  could  hardly  hold  the 
sputtering  quill ;  and  during  this  solemn  ceremony  the  irre 
pressible  Lilias  broke  out  laughing  with  hysterical  glee,  and 
requested  Captain  Howard  to  put  into  a  wee  corner  o'  that 
paper  the  promise  he  had  given  her  that  she  "  suld  hae  a' 
thae  blankets  that  were  ne'er  brought  to  the  fort,  afore 
the  sodgers  suld  steal  them  a'." 

"  Thae  bit  duds  were  unco  gude  duds,"  she  remarked 
fleeringly  of  these  immaterial  comforts. 


XXI 

CALLUM  MAC!LVESTY  had  been  soon  at  Jock  Lesly's  side 
to  afford  him  such  succor  and  countenance  as  was  possible 
under  the  circumstances.  He  asked  for  leave  to  aid  him  in 
transporting  Lilias,  so  stiff  with  the  cold  was  she,  back  to 
the  cave  house,  where  she  sat  on  the  buffalo  rug  before  the 
flaring  fire,  her  glittering  hair  all  tumbling  about  her  shoul 
ders,  her  eyes  shining  with  triumph,  and  laughing  with  gay 
outbursts  of  flattered  joy  to  learn  how  wretched  they  had 
all  been  because  of  her  absence,  and  how  wrong  and  wicked 
they  esteemed  her  sudden  arbitrary  release  of  the  prisoner. 

"  /  amna  sorry/7  she  protested,  "  except  for  that  the  cal- 
lant  hae  on  my  gude  red  rokelay,  an'  my  best  puce-colored 
serge  gownd,  an'  my  gude  murrey  screen,  wi'  only  ae  wee 
tear  in  the  weft  o'  it,  —  an'  I  Jse  warrant  I  '11  no  see  a'  that 
braw  gear  again  !  " 

It  was  Callum  who  sought  to  impress  her  with  the  mag 
nitude  of  the  offense  that  she  had  committed,  for  Jock  Lesly 
cared  for  naught  else  on  earth  save  that  she  was  safe  and  sat 
once  more  on  the  rug  before  the  blazing  fire  of  the  ha'  house. 

"  An'  what  care  I  how  far  ye  went  an'  how  hard  ye  fared 
to  tak  him,  Callum  !  "  she  cried  indignantly.  "Gin  I  hadna 
tauld  you  the  callant  was  French,  you  wad  ne'er  hae  kenned 
it.  An'  ye  tauld  yon  Captain  Howard  —  that  bluidy-minded 
chiel !  I  wuss  he  was  in  his  ain  cauld  tolbooth  to  freeze 
stiff  like  my  nainsell !  " 

"  Whist,  whist,  hinny !  "  remonstrated  Jock  Lesly.  "  Cal 
lum  wadna  hae  tauld  the  lad  was  French  had  he  kenned 
you  wad  wuss  to  keep  it  secret ;  wad  ye,  Callum  ?  " 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  397 

With  this  direct  appeal  the  Highland  soldier,  sitting  in 
his  armchair  opposite  Jock  Lesly  at  the  fire,  with  Lilias 
between  them  on  the  rug,  gazed  steadily  into  the  glowing 
coals.  He  could  not  evade  the  question. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  "  I  wad  !  I  wad  ha'  tauld  e'en  if 
Lilias  had  bid  me  keep  a  quiet  sough  aboot  it !  " 

"  Na,  Callum  !  surely  na  ! "  exclaimed  Jock  Lesly  irri 
tably.  "  Ye  wadna  vex  the  bairn  !  "  For  Lilias  had  lifted 
her  head  with  its  wealth  of  flaring  hair,  and  was  gazing  at 
Callum  with  intent,  questioning,  speculative  eyes.  "  Ye 
care  too  muckle  for  Lilias  for  that !  "  Jock  Lesly  prompted 
him. 

"  I  care  more  for  my  oath,  for  my  duty,  than  for  any 
lassie  alive  !  "  protested  the  blunt  soldier. 

There  was  a  moment's  silence,  while  the  fire  roared  and 
the  smoke  rushed  up  the  chimney  into  the  wild  wintry  storm 
without,  of  which  they  here  heard  naught.  Jock  Lesly, 
with  a  knitted  brow,  filled  his  pipe  and  said  no  more.  Cal 
lum,  his  glass  poised  upon  his  knee,  gazed  steadfastly  into 
the  flames,  and  Lilias,  with  dewy,  gleaming  eyes  fixed  upon 
him,  suddenly  exclaimed,  as  if  in  delighted  reminiscence, 
"  Ou,  ay,  that  was  what  Tarn  Wilson  said  !  His  oath,  his 
honor  aboon  a' !  No  woman's  wile,  no  woman's  smile  could 
win  him  awa' !  Ah,  the  leal  heart  he  had !  That  is  what 
Tarn  Wilson  aye  said  !  " 

"  I  care  na  for  Tarn  Wilson,  nor  for  what  he  said  !  "  de 
clared  the  dour  Callum  glumly. 

"Not  the  ane  you  kenned  ! "  cried  Lilias.  "This  Tarn 
Wilson  ye  never  saw  !  " 

The  Highland  soldier  thought  the  cold  and  excitement 
and  anxiety  had  shaken  her  balance  a  trifle. 

"  But  Callum,"  she  persisted,  "  suppose  it  wad  gar  me 
like  you  better  if  you  had  hid  that  the  puir  lad  is  French  ?  '*' 

"  I  wadna  hae  dune  it !  I  wadna  hae  hid  it !  "  He  shook 
his  head  sadly,  and  her  father  stared  at  him  in  amazement. 


398  A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER 

Inch  by  inch  he  seemed  renouncing  his  chance  for  the  girl's 
good  graces. 

"A-weel,  a-weel,"  she  said  slowly.  "But  since  a's  come 
an'  gane,  an'  the  march  was  for  naething,  an'  the  prisoner 
is  flitted,  an'  I  was  frozen  wi'  cauld  an'  misery,  an'  am  like 
to  be  sent  to  Charlestoun  to  answer  for  my  crimes,  ye  can 
say  now,  lad,  that  ye  are  verra  sorry  that  ye  disclosed  my 
gossip  to  your  officer,  an'  ye  wadna  do  it  again  if  it  were 
to  be  done  anew  !  Ye  will  say  that  ?  "  She  looked  at  him 
with  keen  expectant  eyes. 

"I  wad  do  it  all  the  same,"  he  protested  deliberately. 
Then,  "Lilias,  why  wad  ye  torment  me  wi'  a'  these  ques 
tions  ?  They  tear  out  my  heart  !  " 

"I  sail  ne'er  forget  it!  "  she  cried.  "Ye  did  it  against 
my  wull.  An'  now  ye  say  that  if  ye  had  the  chance  anew 
ye  wad  e'en  do  it  agen,  though  I  suld  hate  ye  for  it!" 

"It 's  my  oath,  Lilias!  My  duty!  I  canna  look  to  you 
instead  o'  thae  great  obligations.  I  suld  do  it  again  an' 
again,  whate'er  ye  might  say  or  feel,  an'  keep  my  oath  till 
death!" 

She  suddenly  broke  out  laughing  afresh,  in  shrill  sweet 
ecstatic  joy.  " That  Tarn  Wilson !  Wha  wad  think!  That 
Tarn  Wilson  at  last!" 

She  seemed  enigmatic  to  them  both,  but  they  hardly  had 
space  to  read  the  riddle,  for  Callum,  recognizing  the  passage 
of  time,  sprang  up  to  return  to  the  fort  before  his  limited 
leave  expired.  He  ran  briskly  up  the  ladder  with  Jock 
Lesly  clambering  after  him  to  take  down  the  barricade 
to  let  him  out,  and  to  secure  the  bars  subsequent  to  his 
exit.  There  was  still  fire  upon  the  hearth  of  the  great 
trading-house,  and  a  dull  red  glow  suffused  its  dusky  brown 
spaces.  It  was  only  as  Lesly  turned  to  close  the  door  of  the 
counter  that  he  noticed  that  Lilias,  agile  enough  despite 
the  congealed  condition  she  so  graphically  described,  had 
followed  also,  and  after  the  soldier  had  sprung  down  the 


A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER  399 

front  steps  and  strode  off  through  the  snow  the  two,  father 
and  daughter,  stood  for  a  moment  gazing  into  the  vast  dark 
stormy  wilderness,  permeated  by  the  sense  of  silent  unseen 
motion  in  the  whirling  flakes,  of  which  only  the  nearest 
were  visible  in  the  red  glow  of  the  dying  fire  from  within. 

"Hegh,  come,  bairnie,  we  'se  e'en  steek  the  door,"  Lesly 
said. 

The  lantern  in  his  hand  showed  her  face  to  be  all  sweetly 
smiling.  She  was  looking  into  the  blank  voids  of  the 
snowy  gloom  and  carrying  first  one  hand  and  then  the  other 
to  her  lips  with  an  engaging  free  curve  and  tossing  each 
toward  the  wilderness. 

"And  what  now? "  he  demanded,  staring  owlishly  down 
at  her  in  amaze. 

"Just  throwing  a  wheen  kisses  to  Tarn  Wilson, — oh 
puir  Tarn  Wilson !  Wha  wad  hae  thought  he  wad  e'er  win 
name  agen ! " 

"Wow!"  said  her  father  glumly.  "Tarn  Wilson!  — 
drat  Tarn  Wilson,  I  say !  We  hae  had  an  unco  pother  ower 
Tarn  Wilson,  now !  " 

But  she  ran  in  ahead  of  him  laughing  in  great  glee,  and 
he  overheard  her  in  her  little  chamber  while  she  disrobed 
for  bed  talking  about  Tam  Wilson  and  Tarn  Wilson  to 
Luckie  Meg,  who  answered  acquiescently  to  whatever  she 
said,  "Ou, — ay!  I 'se  warrant!"  and  apparently  gave 
scant  heed,  even  if  she  heard  at  all. 

For  some  weeks  Callum  Macllvesty  felt  anew  that  he  was 
admitted  into  a  sort  of  Paradise  in  frequenting  the  ha'  house, 
albeit  his  heart  was  sore.  The  rescue  that  she  had  planned 
and  achieved  for  the  prisoner  at  such  risk  and  suffering  to 
herself  argued  much  for  the  strength  of  her  attachment  to 
Laroche,  and  this  forbade  hope  even  when  hope  seemed 
most  possible.  She  herself  was  so  gay,  so  whimsically 
cheery,  so  blithe  about  the  hearth,  where  the  Highlander 
loved  to  sit  as  of  yore  with  her  father.  She  noted  Callum 's 


400  A   SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

depressed  mien,  and  ascribing  it  to  the  fruitless  result  of 
the  long  laborious  march  and  triumphant  capture,  argued 
that  he  had  done  all  that  he  could  and  more  than  any  other 
man  would,  his  whole  duty,  and  the  sequence  was  the 
affair  of  Captain  Howard,  —  and  then  remarked  most  per 
tinently  that  if  she  were  that  officer  and  had  no  better  a 
tassel  to  a  nightcap  than  that  frayed  thing  he  sported  in 
public  at  the  guard-house,  she  would  resign  from  the  army ! 

In  order  to  prove  that  Captain  Howard  had  himself  sus 
tained  no  damage  in  the  loss  of  his  notable  prisoner,  she 
cited  the  fact  that  the  war  with  France  was  now  over,  ces 
sation  of  hostilities  had  been  announced  on  the  21st  of 
January,  and  since  the  treaty  had  been  signed  in  February, 
it  had  become  known  that  the  French  forts,  Toulouse,  Torn- 
becbe,  Conde,  were  to  be  surrendered  as  early  as  English 
officers  could  be  detailed  to  receive  the  transfer.  All 
prisoners  were  to  be  released,  —  among  those  specially  de 
manded  she  had  seen  in  the  Gazette  the  name  of  Lieutenant 
de  Laroche,  —  already  escaped  though  he  was ! 

But  all  this,  though  so  prettily  urged,  did  not  suffice  to 
lift  the  gloom  that  weighed  on  Callum's  mind.  He  was 
soon  to  say  farewell,  to  rejoin  the  Forty -Second,  to  go  he 
knew  not  whither,  nor  when  to  return! 

It  was  one  day  when  he  was  thus  a-mope,  as  Lilias  was 
wont  to  describe  his  state  of  mind,  that  Callum  discovered 
her  secret,  if  so  candid  an  emotion  can  be  so  called.  The 
ha'  house  had  fallen  into  its  ancient  habitudes  cannily 
enough,  as  if  sorrows  had  never  menaced  it,  and  Lilias  in 
her  brilliant  blue  gown  with  roses  scattered  adown  its  white 
stripes  sat  at  her  wheel  spinning  as  needfully  and  dex 
terously  as  if  she  had  never  fashioned  toils  of  more  signifi 
cance.  Callum  on  the  settle,  his  arms  folded,  his  head  a 
little  bent,  gazed  into  the  red  coals.  All  that  he  had  once 
hoped,  nay  expected,  was  annulled  by  the  sentiments  im 
plied  in  her  release  of  Laroche,  and  the  resentment  she 


A  SPECTRE  OF  POWER  401 

had  expressed  toward  himself  for  revealing  aught  that  she 
had  told  him,  alheit  she  had  not  bespoken  secrecy.  There 
fore  he  experienced  a  revulsion  of  feeling  so  complete,  so 
acute,  as  almost  to  resemble  pain  in  its  breathless  keenness. 
He  had  suddenly  lifted  his  eyes  and  caught  hers  fixed  upon 
him  with  an  expression  he  had  never  seen  in  them  before, 
wistful,  smiling,  yet  serious,  and  deeply  tender.  His  heart 
gave  a  great  plunge  and  every  nerve  was  tense.  He  rose, 
and  still  looking  at  her,  as  if  he  feared  she  might  vanish 
like  some  lovely  dream,  advanced  across  the  hearth.  He 
sat  down  beside  her  in  her  father's  chair,  still  seeking  to 
read  —  the  dullard  I  —  the  obvious  mystery  of  the  sapphire 
light  in  her  eyes. 

"Lilias,"  he  said  clumsily  and  all  tremulous,  "have  you 
something  to  tell  me  1 " 

"  I  trow  not ! "  she  exclaimed,  her  face  roseate  with 
smiles  and  blushes,  but  giving  a  lofty  nod  of  her  golden 
head.  "I  was  thinking,  man,  you  may  hae  something  to 
tell  to  me!" 

"Ah,  Lilias,  I  hae  tauld  it  sae  often!"  he  cried  bewil 
dered. 

"An'  sae  you  are  tired  o'  telling  it?"  she  retorted. 
"Eh,  sirs,  to  be  tired  sae  early!" 

"  I  can  never  be  tired  of  telling  it,  Lilias,  if  only  you  will 
listen  to  it,  —  how  I  love  you  more  and  more  day  by  day !  " 

"It's  just  as  weel,  then,"  —  she  cast  a  radiant  smile 
upon  him  as  she  bent  anew  to  her  wheel,  —  "for  I  expect 
to  listen  to  it  —  that  is  —  whiles  —  at  orra  times  —  when 
I  hae  naething  better  to  do  —  as  lang  as  I  live. " 

It  was  not  in  Callum's  scheme  of  love-making  to  suggest 
the  suddenness  of  this  acceptability  of  a  suit  so  long  urged. 
Luckie  Meg  herself  could  not  have  assented  more  acquies 
cently  than  he  in  every  detail  that  Lilias  chose  to  pro 
pound.  It  was  only  once,  in  the  course  of  those  long 
sunless  afternoons  in  the  cavern,  with  the  red  glow  of  the 


402  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER 

fire  about  them  and  the  impenetrable  walls  to  fend  off  the 
alien  world  so  far  away  from  their  consciousness,  when  all 
their  talk  was  of  their  mutual  experience  of  the  sentiment 
that  swayed  them,  what  each  had  felt  and  thought,  that 
Callum  showed  symptoms  of  rebellion  —  being  informed 
that  she  looked  upon  him  and  he  might  consider  himself  as 
"Tarn  Wilson." 

"  But  I  will  not !  "  cried  Callum,  ready  to  put  the  question 
to  the  torture  at  once.  Jealousy  is  not  so  easily  vanquished. 
Indeed  it  hardly  dies  even  under  the  heel  of  victory ! 

"Not  the  ane  that  you  knew,"  she  stipulated.  "Just 
ane  auld  love  o*  my  ain!  He  wad  put  his  oath  before 
all.  An'  he  loved  a  woman  well,  but  honor  mair!  an' 
he  had  no  deceit  nor  guile  in  his  heart  (though  I  hinna 
forgot  about  your  report  to  Captain  Howard,  neither,  an' 
I  '11  sort  ye  weel  for  it  some  day),  an'  he  had  no  false  na 
tions  nor  false  tongues  (he  had  mickle  ado  to  speak  his 
ain),  an'  no  false  names  ({  Tarn  Wilson  '  bein'  laid  to  him 
because  he  was  sae  like  '  Tarn  Wilson  ').  An'  I  suld  hae 
kenned  ye  earlier  for  him,  —  though  your  hair  hae  aye  got 
a  place  that  is  streakit  wi'  brown  an'  lighter  brown  an' 
I  think  it  wadna  show  gin  it  were  brushed  backward,  — 
but  I  aye  loved  the  look  o'  ye,  only  I  never  saw  ye  put 
to  the  test,  and  sae  I  thought  ye  were  just  plain  '  Callum 
Mcllvesty. '  But  now  I  ken  ye  are  Tarn  Wilson !  " 

And  smiling  at  him  with  lips  so  joyous,  so  red  and  sweet, 
Callum  yielded  the  point  and  assumed  in  this  wise  the 
sobriquet  which  personified  her  girlish  ideal. 

Still  it  nettled  him  grievously.  She  might  have  called 
her  ideal  "Callum." 

"Whist,  lad,  whist,"  said  her  father  to  him  one  day, 
"an'  I  'se  tell  ye  something  ye  will  ne'er  find  out  frae  her." 

Then  with  much  solemnity,  with  circumspection,  he 
pulled  out  a  paper  from  his  wallet,  to  which  he  could  not 
have  paid  more  respectful  and  close  attention  if  it  had  been 


A  SPECTRE   OF  POWER  403 

a  schedule  of  prices  current.  It  was  a  letter  from  Laroche, 
dated  on  the  French  man-of-war  L'Aigle,  and  was  addressed 
jointly  to  Jock  Lesly  and  his  daughter.  It  was  an  offer  of 
marriage  to  Lilias,  and  begged  that  they  would  fix  a  date 
to  meet  him  in  Charlestown,  where  the  ceremony  might  be 
performed  by  both  Catholic  and  Protestant  clergy.  It  set 
forth  his  rank,  means,  and  expectations,  which  were  very 
considerable,  and  gave  references  which  were  both  accessible 
and  unimpeachable. 

"An',  lad,"  said  Jock  Lesly,  looking owlishly  at  Callum 
while  leaning  over  the  counter  at  the  trading-house  where 
he  had  driven  so  many  bargains,  "  seeing  that  she  is  my 
only  child,  and  that  ensigncy  of  yours  is  gey  far  to  seek, 
and  this  man  is  a  sure  enough  lieutenant,  not  o'  red  Injuns 
but  of  the  French  army,  and  is  a  chevalier  or  a  sieur,  — 
there  's  no  rebate  on  that,  —  and  has  lands  an'  a  chateau 
and  some  income,  and  the  lassie  seemed  fond  o'  him  on  the 
Tennessee,  and  here  she  set  him  free  when  they  had  him 
by  the  heels  at  the  fort,  —  why  I  downa  say,  but  I  advised 
her  —  weel,  to  marry  the  fallow,  when  we  go  down  this 
spring,  an'  gae  to  live  in  France.  It 's  far  awa',  is  France, 
but  they  hae  gude  glimmerings  o'  sense  about  their  weaving 
there.  I  hae  seen  some  gude  camlets  frae  France,  an'  ye 
ken  there  's  no  place  like  Lyons  for  silk  — though  that 's 
na  for  my  trade  neither." 

Callum 's  heart  sank  for  the  mere  consciousness  that  his 
happiness  had  trembled  in  such  jeopardy.  "And  what  did 
she  say  ? " 

"  Lilias  ?  —  why,  she  said  ae  sentence,  c  He  isna  Tarn 
Wilson ! '  Sae,  lad,  if  ye  will  be  advised  by  me,  ye  '11  be 
Tarn  Wilson  as  near  as  ye  can  find  out  how ! " 

About  this  time  an  ensigncy  was  secured  for  Callum 
through  his  family's  influence,  and  when  he  returned  shortly 
to  Charlestown  he  met  there  Everard,  who  was  in  a  state 
of  exuberant  and  facetious  triumph  in  the  manner  of  the 


404  A  SPECTRE   OF  POWEK 

escape  of  Captain  Howard's  prisoner,  having  earlier  eluded 
him  also,  and  who  was  the  first  to  congratulate  the  young 
Highlander  upon  the  attainment  of  his  commission  and  the 
near  approach  of  his  wedding  day.  For  in  the  early  sum 
mer  Callum  and  Lilias  were  married  in  Charlestown  and 
sailed  away,  leaving  auld  Jock  still  deeply  immersed  in  the 
problems  of  the  Indian  trade.  These  problems  became 
much  simplified  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  French  from  the 
country,  and  soon  the  Cherokees  began  to  present  those 
curious  symptoms  of  degeneracy  which  seem  the  inevitable 
incident  of  the  first  stages  of  civilization,  an  interregnum,  so 
to  speak,  which  ensues  upon  the  last  vestiges  of  the  ancient 
status.  Thereafter  they  were  only  formidable  locally  and  in 
small  predatory  bands,  and  represented  no  more  a  definitely 
organized  menace  to  the  British  provinces.  In  the  course 
of  some  years  a  great  happiness  and  source  of  pride  fell  to 
the  lot  of  Jock  Lesly.  The  reversal  of  the  attainder  had 
restored  the  chief  of  the  ancient  house  of  Macllvesty  to 
his  pristine  position  with  others  of  his  kinsmen  of  minor 
rank.  By  reason  of  several  deaths  Callum  Macllvesty  suc 
ceeded  to  a  baronetcy,  and  Jock  Lesly,  despite  his  quon 
dam  bluff  expressions  of  scorn  of  a  title,  found  its  taste  ex 
ceedingly  sweet  as  applied  to  his  daughter;  he  was  proud 
too  of  Callum 's  rise  in  the  army  through  successive  pro 
motions  for  gallant  conduct  in  the  field. 

"He  smacks  his  lips  ower  '  Captain  Sir  Callum  an'  Leddy 
Macllvesty  '  as  if  the  words  were  fitten  to  eat,"  Dougal 
commented  dourly,  "an'  somehow  he  says  'em  fifty  times 
a  day ! " 

There  was  another  who  heartily  rejoiced  in  this  advance 
of  fortune  when  it  came  to  his  ears,  for  Lady  Macllvesty 's 
beauty  and  what  were  called  her  "  eccentricities  "  made  her 
of  some  social  note  in  her  day.  Laroche  had  loved  the 
girl  very  truly  for  herself,  and  although  he  had  sought 
to  look  upon  her  rejection  of  his  suit  as  in  a  certain  sense 


A   SPECTRE   OF   POWER  405 

an  escape  for  himself,  in  view  of  her  humble  station,  her 
plebeian  father,  her  simple  education  and  limited  experi 
ence,  and  their  incongruity  with  his  objects  of  ambition 
and  the  sphere  of  his  association,  he  could  not  entertain 
the  reminiscence  without  a  keen  sentimental  regret,  albeit 
blended  with  tender  pleasure  to  know  that  the  world  had 
gone  well  with  her.  He  too  had  reached,  as  he  deserved, 
promotion,  and  at  no  small  danger,  as  the  sabre  slashes  re 
ceived  in  the  hand-to-hand  warfare  of  that  day,  and  which 
disfigured  his  bland  handsome  face,  might  betoken.  He 
lived  several  years  after  his  retirement  from  active  service. 
One  who  had  known  him  in  those  halcyon  days  on  the 
Tennessee  River  might  hardly  have  recognized  him  later, 
so  scarred,  gray-haired,  wrinkled,  and  very  thin  he  had  be 
come,  —  a  mere  rack  on  which  to  hang  his  decorations  and 
the  ribbons  of  his  orders.  He  had  always  been  esteemed  a 
man  of  unique  ability,  and  his  conversation  was  long  valued 
by  the  judicious  in  the  cafes  and  salons  of  Paris  which  he 
frequented.  When  he  reached  the  discursive  and  reminiscent 
stage  of  advancing  age,  often,  as  the  night  would  wear  on  in 
a  choice  company,  he  would  discourse  of  high  themes  of  na 
tional  possibilities,  and  regretfully  rehearse  disastrous  phases 
of  the  country's  past  that  had  fallen  within  his  personal 
knowledge,  —  of  the  great  territories  that  France  had  de 
veloped  and  forfeited;  plans  of  empire  that  she  had  failed 
to  utilize ;  strange  peoples  of  martial  values  who  had  sought 
her  protectorate  in  vain.  Then  he  would  revert  to  his 
own  life  among  them,  —  reciting  details  of  their  curious 
customs  and  mysterious  antiquity;  telling  thrilling  stories 
of  personal  adventure,  now  of  an  escape  from  the  menace 
of  the  torture  and  the  stake,  and  now  of  his  release  from 
the  trebly  guarded  stronghold  of  a  British  fort  by  the  aid 
of  a  beautiful  English  lady  of  rank  who  loved  him  and 
whom  he  adored. 

And  although  as  he  grew  older  and  his  audiences  younger 


406  A   SPECTKE   OF   POWER 

they  believed  this  unnamed  English  lady  of  rank  to  be  en 
tirely  apocryphal,  the  tear  was  obviously  genuine  with  which 
he  sweetened  his  glass  as  he  told  that  she  was  dead  now,  — 
years  ago  —  ah  yes  —  dead ! 

"II  y  a  une  autre  vie  !  C'est  une  belle  esperance  !  "  he 
would  sigh,  for  he  was  always  deeply  religious.  "  But  alas, 
that  the  sweets  of  this  life  are  transitory ! " 

And  presently  he  would  be  talking  of  the  triumphs  of 
engineering  possible  in  that  vast  America.  Sometimes  he 
would  trace  out  on  the  tablecloth  with  the  aid  of  the 
scroll-like  pattern  of  the  damask  the  outline  of  the  great 
bend  of  a  river  which  he  affirmed  had  singly  saved  that 
country  to  the  English  and  reft  it  from  the  French,  as  its 
extraordinary  obstructions  to  navigation  prevented  all  ade 
quate  conveyance  of  munitions  of  war  to  the  Cherokees, 
who  held  the  balance  of  power.  He  would  mark  off  the 
canal  which  he  had  purposed  to  build  in  the  fullness  of 
time,  and  the  site  he  had  selected  for  the  barrier  towns  to 
guard  the  region  of  the  portages,  necessary  to  evade  the 
obstructions,  as  a  temporary  substitute.  The  technical 
terms  of  the  oft-told  tale,  the  abstruse  calculations  of  the 
elaborately  demonstrated  problem,  would  finally  wear  out 
the  interest  of  his  auditors;  they  would  slip  away  one  by 
one,  and  leave  him  bending  over  the  table,  gloating  upon 
the  symmetrical  possibilities  of  his  plan,  bewailing  its  un 
timely  frustration,  seeing,  instead  of  the  blank  cloth,  that 
rich  new  land  with  its  gigantic  growths  of  primeval  forests 
and  those  dizzy  whirls  of  turbulent  waters,  that  stretch  out 
miles  and  miles  impassably,  where  even  now,  despite  the 
advance  of  modern  science  and  the  exorcising  appropria 
tions  of  Congress,  the  devils,  hottuk  ookproose,  still  dance 
in  the  riotous  rapids  and  sing  tumultuously  as  of  yore. 


NOTES 


NOTES 

1.  Page  4.  A  detail  of  the  incidents  of  this  visit  to  the  king  in 
London  and  the  consequent  impressions  made  upon  the  minds  of 
the  Indians  would  be  of  much  interest  to  the  student  of  civili 
zation.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Lieutenant  Henry  Timberlake 
of  Virginia,  who  accompanied  the  Cherokee s  to  England,  should 
have  devoted  so  great  a  space  in  his  "Memoirs"  of  that  event 
(published  in  London  in  1765)  to  plaintive  accounts  of  his  wran 
gling  with  governmental  officials  concerning  his  reimbursement 
for  sundry  expenses  on  their  account,  with  which  it  seems  he 
burdened  himself  without  sufficient  warrant,  and  to  the  effort  to 
repel  the  insinuation  that  he  undertook  the  enterprise  of  conduct 
ing  them  thither  for  his  own  personal  profit,  as  impresario  so  to 
speak  ;  for  the  people  of  that  city  pressed  in  hordes  to  see  them, 
many  of  the  nobility  as  well  as  citizens  of  lower  rank,  and  some, 
evidently  without  the  knowledge  of  Lieutenant  Timberlake,  paid 
for  the  privilege.  Beyond  the  strange  dirge-like  chant  which 
Ostenaco  sang  on  landing  ;  their  indifference  to  the  architecture 
of  the  Cathedral  of  Exeter  ;  their  terror  of  the  statue  of  Hercules 
with  uplifted  club  which  they  saw  at  Wilton  (they  begged  to 
be  taken  away  immediately) ;  their  relish  of  the  entertainments 
at  Ranelegh,  Vauxhall,  and  especially  of  the  pantomimes  at 
Sadler's  Wells ;  their  admiration  of  the  youth,  personal  beauty, 
and  affability  of  the  king,  there  is  naught  to  indicate  their  atti 
tude  of  mind.  A  contemporary  account,  however,  in  the  ' '  An 
nual  Register  "  for  1762  gives  a  personal  glimpse  of  them. 

"Three  Cherokee  chiefs,  lately  arrived  from  South  Carolina,  in 
order  to  settle  a  lasting  peace  with  the  English,  had  their  first 
audience  of  his  majesty.  The  head  chief  called  Outacite  or  Man- 
killer,  on  account  of  his  many  gallant  actions,  was  introduced  by 
Lord  Eglinton,  and  conducted  by  Sir  Clement  Cottrell,  master 
of  ceremonies.  They  were  upwards  of  an  hour  and  a  half  with 
his  majesty,  who  received  them  with  great  goodness,  and  they 
behaved  in  his  presence  with  remarkable  decency  and  mildness. 
The  man  who  assisted  as  interpreter  on  this  occasion,  instead  of 
one  who  set  out  with  them,  but  died  on  his  passage,  was  so  con 
fused  that  the  king  could  ask  but  few  questions. 


410  NOTES 

"These  chiefs  are  well-made  men,  near  six  feet  high,  their  faces 
and  necks  coarsely  painted  of  a  copper  colour,  and  they  seem  to 
have  no  hair  on  their  heads.  They  came  over  in  the  dress  of 
their  country,  consisting  of  a  shirt,  trowzers,  and  mantle,  their 
heads  covered  with  skull-caps  and  adorned  with  shells,  feathers, 
earrings,  and  other  trifling  ornaments.  On  their  arrival  in  Lon 
don  they  were  conducted  to  a  house  taken  for  them  in  Suffolk 
street,  and  habited  more  in  the  English  manner.  "When  intro 
duced  to  his  majesty  the  head  chief  wore  a  blue  mantle  covered 
with  lace,  and  had  his  head  richly  ornamented.  On  his  breast 
hung  a  silver  gorget  with  his  majesty's  arms  engraved.  The 
other  two  chiefs  were  in  scarlet,  richly  adorned  with  gold  lace, 
and  gorgets  of  plate  on  their  breasts.  During  their  stay  in  Eng 
land  of  about  two  months  they  were  invited  to  the  tables  of  sev 
eral  of  the  nobility,  and  were  shown  by  a  gentleman,  appointed 
for  that  purpose,  the  tower,  the  camps,  and  everything  else  that 
could  serve  to  impress  them  with  proper  ideas  of  the  power  and 
grandeur  of  the  nation ;  but  it  is  hard  to  say  what  impression 
these  sights  made  upon  them,  as  they  had  no  other  way  of  com 
municating  their  sentiments  but  by  their  gestures.  They  were 
likewise  conducted  every  day  to  one  or  another  of  the  places  of 
amusement,  in  and  about  London,  where  they  constantly  drew 
after  them  innumerable  crowds  of  spectators,  to  the  no  small 
emolument  of  the  owners  of  these  places,  some  of  which  raised 
their  prices  to  make  the  most  of  such  unusual  guests.  Here  they 
behaved  in  general  with  great  familiarity,  shaking  hands  very 
freely  with  all  those  who  thought  proper  to  accept  that  honour. 
They  carried  home  with  them  articles  of  peace  between  his  ma 
jesty  and  their  nation,  with  a  handsome  present  of  warlike  in 
struments  and  such  other  things  as  they  seemed  to  place  the 
greatest  value  on." 

2.  Page  5.  The  Indian  phrases  given  in  this  volume  are  studied 
from  sources  as  nearly  contemporaneous  as  may  be  with  the 
events  herein  narrated,  both  for  the  sake  of  verisimilitude  and 
because  of  the  multitudinous  changes  to  which  the  aboriginal 
languages  have  since  been  subjected,  for  the  purpose  of  classifi 
cation  in  view  of  the  diverse  orthography  of  the  earlier  philolo 
gists,  which  varied,  of  course,  according  to  nationality,  French, 
German,  or  English. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  differing  estimate  of  the  value 
which  the  learned  place  on  this  singular  jetsam  and  flotsam  of 
the  seas  of  Time.  The  study  of  the  aboriginal  languages,  apart 
from  historical  considerations,  possesses  great  interest  in  the 
revelation  of  "new  plans  of  ideas,"  as  Monsieur  Maupertuis 


NOTES  411 

felicitously  phrases  methods  of  grammatical  construction.  "The 
Greek  is  admired  for  its  compounds,  yet  what  are  they  to  those 
of  the  Indians ! "  exclaims  the  eminent  philologist,  Mr.  Dupon- 
ceau.  "What  would  Tibullus  or  Sappho  have  given  to  have 
had  at  their  command  a  word  at  once  so  tender  and  so  expres 
sive —  wulamalessohattan,  '  thou  who  makest  me  happy'  ?  How 
delighted  would  be  Moore,  the  poet  of  the  loves  and  graces,  if  his 
language,  instead  of  five  or  six  tedious  words,  had  furnished  him 
with  an  expression  like  this  in  which  the  lover,  the  object  be 
loved,  and  the  delicious  sentiment  are  blended  and  fused  together 
in  one  comprehensive  and  appellative  term.  And  is  it  in  the 
language  of  savages  that  these  beautiful  forms  are  found ! " 

And  yet  in  the  learned  work  on  America  by  Mr.  Edward  John 
Payne  of  University  College,  Oxford,  still  in  course  of  publica 
tion,  it  is  stated  that  "the  majority  of  these  languages,  if  not 
absolutely  the  lowest  in  the  glossological  scale,  are  as  near  the 
bottom  as  the  student  of  the  origin  of  speech  could  well  de 
sire."  Of  their  poly  synthetic  features,  which  Mr.  Duponceau  so 
much  admires,  Mr.  Payne  speaks  as  of  merely  bunched  words, 
regarding  the  holophrase  as  the  primitive  and  simplest  form  of 
ignorant  language,  which  in  the  development  and  weight  of 
meaning  is  broken  finally,  producing  in  its  disintegration  parts 
of  speech. 

Lord  Monboddo,  in  his  "Origin  and  Progress  of  Language," 
founding  his  opinion  partly  on  the  testimony  of  Father  Sagard's 
work,  "  Le  Grand  Voyage  du  Pays  des  Hurons,"  says  of  the  Huron 
language,  "It  is  the  most  imperfect  of  any  that  has  ever  been 
discovered;"  whereas  Mr.  Duponceau  finds  it  "rich  in  gram 
matical  forms,"  and  permits  himself  the  expression  "  pompous  ig 
norance  "  in  alluding  to  the  conclusions  of  his  learned  confrere. 

The  fact  that  Dr.  Adam  Smith  as  well  as  Lord  Monboddo  per 
ceived  in  the  tendency  to  incorporate  in  one  word  the  mean 
ing  of  a  whole  sentence  an  evidence  of  barbarism  induces  Mr. 
Duponceau  to  support  the  contrary  opinion  with  "a  lively  ex 
ample  from  Suetonius,  Ave  Imperator,  morituri  (those-who-are- 
going-to-die)  te  salutant.  Since  it  has  been  discovered  that  the 
barbarous  dialects  of  savage  nations  are  formed  on  the  same  prin 
ciples  with  classical  idioms,  it  has  been  found  easier  to  ascribe 
the  beautiful  organization  of  these  languages  to  stupidity  and 
barbarism  than  to  acknowledge  our  ignorance  of  the  manner  in 
which  it  has  been  produced." 

Humboldt  says :  "  It  is  acknowledged  that  almost  everywhere 
the  Indian  idioms  display  greater  richness  and  more  delicate  gra 
dations  than  might  be  supposed  from  the  uncultivated  state  of 


412  NOTES 

the  people  by  whom  they  are  spoken."  Adair,  who  had  forty 
years'  personal  experience  among  them,  writing  in  1775,  claims 
that  their  languages  give  evidence  of  culture  and  scope  of  ex 
pression  impossible  to  have  originated  with  uncivilized  tribes 
such  as  they  were  found.  A  singular  circumstance  concerning 
the  "syllabic  alphabet,"  presumed  to  have  been  invented  by  the 
Cherokee  Sequoyah  (John  Guest)  about  1820,  would  imply  an 
origin  at  a  far  more  ancient  date.  A  stone  engraved  with  this 
character  was  found  by  an  agent  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  in 
1889  lying  under  the  skull  of  a  skeleton  buried  in  an  Indian 
mound,  with  every  evidence  of  antiquity,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Tennessee  River,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  one  of  the  old 
Cherokee  towns.  This  is  of  more  special  interest  as  Adair  and 
also  Buttrick,  in  his  "Antiquities,"  record  that  the  Indians 
always  claim  to  have  once  had  scriptures,  or  a  book,  which  for 
their  sins  they  had  lost  to  the  white  race.  May  not  these  quaint 
characters  bear  some  relation  to  this  tradition  ? 

The  "particular  plural"  for  "we,"  which  it  seems  occurs  in 
all  these  languages,  even  found  in  the  extinct  Taensa  dialect,  — 
concerning  the  genuineness  of  the  grammar  of  which  so  much  in 
terest  was  elicited  some  years  ago  on  its  publication,  edited  by 
Messieurs  Adam  and  Parisot,  —  seems  hardly  worth  the  discussion 
bestowed  upon  it,  as  parallels  exist  in  so  many  modern  European 
languages,  —  noi  altri,  nous  autres,  nosotros,  —  and  even  the  ver 
nacular  may  offer  a  counterpart  in  "  we-all "  and  "  we-uns." 

Lord  Monboddo's  idea,  first  presented  to  his  attention  by  the 
blind  poet,  the  Reverend  Thomas  Blacklock,  "  that  the  first  lan 
guage  among  men  was  music,"  has  an  interesting  suggestion  of 
confirmation  in  the  speech  of  the  Cherokees  as  described  by  Tim- 
berlake.  "Their  language  is  vastly  aspirated,  and  the  accents 
so  many  and  various  you  would  often  imagine  them  to  be  singing 
in  their  common  discourse."  Bartram  says  of  the  sound  of  the 
Muscogulge  (Muscogee)  language,  "  The  women  in  particular 
speak  so  fine  and  musical  as  to  represent  the  singing  of  birds." 
Gayarre  states  that  the  word  "Choctaw"  means  "charming 
voice,"  and  was  hence  applied  to  the  tribe. 

3.  Page  8.  A  letter  from  General  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst  dated 
Albany,  August  13,  1761,  gives  a  particularized  account  of  these 
destructive  measures.  "The  country  would  have  been  impene 
trable  had  it  been  well  defended.  Fifteen  towns  and  all  the 
plantations  have  been  burned ;  above  1400  acres  of  corn,  beans, 
and  pease,  etc.,  destroyed  ;  about  5000  people,  men,  women,  and 
children,  driven  into  the  woods  and  mountains,  where  having 
nothing  to  subsist  upon  they  must  either  starve  or  sue  for  peace." 


NOTES  413 

The  fury  of  these  measures  after  resistance  had  ceased  is  partly 
to  be  explained  as  retaliation  for  the  Cherokees'  breach  of  faith 
during  the  preceding  year,  in  the  massacre  of  the  garrison  of 
Fort  Loudon  after  its  capitulation,  while  on  the  march  to  Fort 
Prince  George  under  the  safe  conduct  and  escort  of  the  principal 
chiefs.  All  the  officers,  including  the  commandant,  the  unfortu 
nate  Captain  Paul  Demere,  fell  in  this  indiscriminate  slaughter 
except  one,  Captain  John  Stuart,  who  escaped  and  was  afterward 
rewarded  by  a  crown  office  for  his  courage  and  constancy  in  the 
siege.  He  was  of  the  family  of  Stuart  of  Kincardine,  Strath 
spey,  Scotland,  married  into  a  South  Carolina  family,  and  previ 
ous  to  the  American  Revolution  lived  in  Charlestown,  where  was 
born  his  son,  who  became  an  officer  in  the  British  army,  General 
Sir  John  Stuart,  Count  of  Maida,  winning  the  signal  victory  of 
Maida  over  the  French  general  Reynier,  in  Calabria  in  1806. 
The  garrison  of  Fort  Loudon  has  a  special  interest  &s  the  first 
military  force  of  civilization  giving  battle  on  the  soil  which 
is  now  Tennessee,  its  earliest  sacrifice  in  the  cause  of  human 
progress. 

4.  Page  13.  Several  of  the  elder  writers  describe  such  clever 
pastimes  among  the  Indians.     Timberlake  records  that  while  in 
the  Cherokee  country  he  witnessed  this  favorite  pantomime,  as 
well  as  another  equally  diverting,  called  ' '  Taking  the  pigeons  at 
roost." 

5.  Page  31.  It  is  said  that  the  Indians  when  discovered  had 
among  them  no  methods  of  ascertaining  weight,  and  bought  and 
sold  exclusively  by  measure.    Hence  the  incongruity  of  this  locu 
tion  in  their  speech  has  furnished  an  additional  argument  to  the 
supporters  of  the  theory  of  their  Hebraic  origin,  suggesting  an 
idiomatic  survival  of  forgotten  customs. 

6.  Page  56.  So  extreme  and  well  founded  was  the  prevalent 
terror  of  the  torture  by  the  Indians  that  once  captured  no  im 
mediate  sacrifice  was  too  great  to  evade  the  grimmer  possibility. 
General  David  Stewart  of  Garth  gives  an  instance  in  this  region 
among  the  British  troops  at  this  time.     "  Montgomerie's  High 
landers  were  often  employed  in  small  detached  expeditions.     In 
these  marches  they  had  numberless  skirmishes  with  the  Indians 
and  with  the  irregular  troops  of  the  enemy.     Several  soldiers  of 
this  and  other  regiments  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  being 
taken  in  an  ambush.     Allan  Macpherson,  one  of  these  soldiers, 
witnessing  the  miserable  fate  of  several  of  his  fellow  prisoners, 
who  had  been  tortured  to  death  by  the  Indians,  and  seeing  them 
preparing  to  commence  the  same  operations  upon  himself,  made 
signs  that  he  had  something  to  communicate.    An  interpreter 


414  NOTES 

was  brought.  Macpherson  told  them  that  provided  his  life  was 
spared  for  a  few  minutes  he  would  communicate  the  secret  of  an 
extraordinary  medicine  which,  if  applied  to  the  skin,  would  cause 
it  to  resist  the  strongest  blow  of  a  tomahawk  or  sword,  and  if 
they  would  allow  him  to  go  to  the  woods  with  a  guard  to  collect 
the  plants  proper  for  this  medicine,  he  would  prepare  it  and  allow 
the  experiment  to  be  tried  on  his  own  neck  by  the  strongest  and 
most  expert  warrior  among  them.  This  story  easily  gained  upon 
the  superstitious  credulity  of  the  Indians,  and  the  request  of  the 
Highlander  was  instantly  complied  with.  Being  sent  into  the 
woods  he  soon  returned  with  such  plants  as  he  chose  to  pick  up. 
Having  boiled  these  herbs,  he  rubbed  his  neck  with  their  juice, 
and  laying  his  head  upon  a  log  of  wood  desired  the  strongest 
man  among  them  to  strike  at  his  neck  with  his  tomahawk,  when 
he  would  find  that  he  could  not  make  the  slightest  impression. 
An  Indian,'  leveling  a  blow  with  all  his  might,  cut  with  such 
force  that  the  head  flew  off  to  the  distance  of  several  yards.  The 
Indians  were  fixed  in  amazement  at  their  own  credulity  and  the 
address  with  which  the  prisoner  had  escaped  the  lingering  death 
prepared  for  him  ;  but  instead  of  being  enraged  at  the  escape  of 
their  victim,  they  were  so  pleased  with  his  ingenuity  that  they 
refrained  from  inflicting  further  cruelties  on  their  remaining 
prisoners." 

7.  Page  84.  The  disposition  to  compete  for  the  Cherokee  trade 
had  earlier  been  the  occasion  of  much  remonstrance  from  Gov 
ernor  Glen  of  South  Carolina  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Dinwiddie 
of  Virginia  during  their  respective  incumbency.      The  vexed 
question  then  seeming  set  at  rest  was  revived  later  by  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Fauquier  of  Virginia.     In  his  allusion  to  the  subject, 
Jock  Lesly  possibly  included  Lieutenant  Henry  Timberlake  of 
Byrd's  Virginia  Regiment,  who  had  recently  been  on  a  visit  to 
the  Cherokee  country,  quitting  it  in  the  early  spring,  on  March  10, 
1762.     But  it  is  only  fair  to  Lieutenant  Timberlake  to  say  that 
the  Indians  were  pressing  him  to  induce  Virginia  to  open  a  trade 
with  the  Cherokees. 

8.  Page  182.  Timberlake  uses  the  spelling  "Kanagatucko ;" 
the  name  appears  otherwise  signed  to  the  Articles  of  Capitulation 
of  Fort  London,  but  of  course  in  each  instance  the  spelling  is 
phonetic. 

9.  Page  244.  This  incantation  is  an  extract  from  one  of  the  most 
singular  of  the  ancient  Sacred  Formulae  of  the  Cherokees  col 
lected  by  Mr.  James  Mooney  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

10.  Page  282.  The  title  of  Emperor  of  the  Cherokee  Nation 
was  conferred  by  British  authority  on  Moy  Toy  through  Sir 


NOTES  415 

Alexander  Cuming  in  1730,  but  this  proved  no  hindrance  to  the 
chief's  acceptance  of  the  same  high  title  under  the  authority  of 
the  French  government  in  1736  through  its  emissary  among  the 
tribe,  Christian  Priber,  a  German  Jesuit.  Adair  recounts  some 
details  of  the  latter's  efforts  to  materialize  Iberville's  old  scheme 
of  unifying  the  Indian  tribes,  which  were  similar  to  the  experi 
ences  in  the  same  emprise  of  the  earlier  emissaries,  and  the  futile 
ventures  of  Baron  Dejean,  Louis  Latinac,  and  Laroche  a  score  of 
years  later. 

11.  Page  336.   The  history  of  the  Indians  is  not  a  little  compli 
cated  by  the  repetition  of  their  names  from  one  generation  to 
another  and  of  their  war-titles,  sometimes  to  be  differentiated 
only  by  the  names  of  their  respective  towns  as  a  suffix,  as  Outa- 
cite  (the  Man-killer),  of  Citico,  or  Quorinnah  (the  Raven),  of 
Huwhassee.     Even  their  sobriquets  are  not  to  be  relied  upon  for 
further  identification.     Another  Mingo    Push-koosh  flourished 
among  the  Choctaws  a  generation  earlier,  and  was  the  half  bro 
ther  of  the  celebrated  Shulashummashtabe  (Red  Shoes),  who  is 
himself  often  confounded  with  the  chief  of  the  Coosawdas,  also 
known  as  "Red  Shoes,"  long  afterward,  being  active  in  Indian 
politics  as  late  as  1789.     The  Choctaw  "Red  Shoes"  enjoyed 
great  esteem  among  the  British,  as  did  also  the  Cherokee  "  Little 
Carpenter"  (more  accurately  translated  as  " Superlative  Wood- 
carver"),  in  whose  honor,  indeed,  an  English  ship  was  named 
and  a  British  stronghold,  before  the  Cherokee  "War,  Fort  Atta- 
Kulla-Kulla. 

12.  Page  368.  The  climate  of  this  southern  region  at  this  pe 
riod  seems  to  have  won  some  renown  for  its  extremes.     An  offi 
cer's  letter  from  Fort  Prince  George,  dated  January  9,  1761,  says  : 
"I  have  been  several  winters  in  the  north  of  Scotland  and  do 
not  think  I  have  ever  felt  it  colder  there  than  here  at  this  time  ; 
the  snow  is  in  general  three  quarters  of  a  yard  deep,  attended 
with  very  sharp  frosts."    As  to  the  summer  temperature,  Gover 
nor  Ellis  has  left  it  of  record  in  a  letter  to  John  Ellis,  Esq.,  F.  R.  S. , 
dated  Georgia,  July  17,  1758,  that  he  thought  the  inhabitants  of 
this  section  "breathed  hotter  air  than  any  other  people  upon 
earth."    He  takes  pains  to  state  that  he  made  his  observations 
with  the  same  thermometer  that  he  had  had  with  him  in  the  equa 
torial  parts  of  Africa  and  in  the  Leeward  Islands.     Hewatt,  the 
historian,  ventures  to  protest,  albeit  deferring  to  the  accuracy 
and  learning  of  the  erudite  and  traveled  governor,  and  says  that 
the  mercury  never  so  far  exceeded  the  bounds  of  reason  in  South 
Carolina,  and  implies  that  he  believed  that  these  eccentricities 
were  very  rare  in  Georgia. 


fcitetfibe 

EUctrotyped  and  printed  by  ff.  O.  Houghton  &  C* 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

RENEWED  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  IMMEDIATE 
RECALL 


LIBRARY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  DAVIS 

Book  Slip-25m-6,'66(G3855s4) 458 


^   196204 


PS2454 

Murfree,  M.N.  S6 

A  spectre  of  power. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


